Work started on IndianOil's state-of-art POL terminal

Virbhadra Singh, Chief Minister, Himachal Pradesh, laid the foundation stone of IndianOil's state-of-the-art POL terminal at Una, in the presence of Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of State of Petroleum & Natural Gas.

Congratulating IndianOil, Singh said that the setting up a POL terminal in Himachal Pradesh will usher in a new era for the energy sector in the state.

"It gives me immense pleasure to lay the foundation stone for IndianOil's POL terminal with state-of- the art facilities at Pekhubella village in Una district."

Addressing the gathering, Pradhan said, "The terminal will not only improve fuel supply in Himachal Pradesh, but will also generate opportunities for indirect employment by way of handling, loading, and unloading personnel and transport crew."

Presently, the fuel requirements of Himachal Pradesh are met from IndianOil terminals at Ambala(Haryana) and Jallandhar(Punjab) through road fed depots at Kullu and Parwanoo.

Speaking on the occasion, Sanjiv Singh, Chairman, IndianOil, said "IndianOil's storage terminal here at Una is yet another step in the oil & gas revolution that has characterised the country's growth and progress in the past three years. The terminal, being constructed at a cost of over Rs 500 crores, will surely contribute significantly to the industrial growth in Himachal Pradesh."

He told that with the commissioning of this terminal here at Una, not only will the fuel supply in the state improve significantly, we would also be in a better position to meet the winter stocking requirements for the Indian Defence Services.

The most –modern terminal, being set up at an investment of approximately Rs 507 crores will handle over 87, 000 KL of petroleum products including petrol, diesel, and kerosene.

The terminal will be a strategic storage point for Indian Defence to meet annual winter fuel stocking needs in Leh and Ladakh. The terminal will cater to the POL requirements of Himachal Pradesh, leading to improvement in the availability of fuel in the state. The terminal is expected to be completed and commissioned by December 2018. The entire operations of terminal are automated as per the Smart Terminal endeavour of the Corporation.

While the storage tanks are as per API 650, all construction will be as per the mandates of Seismic Zone 5. The storage terminal will receive POL products from Urapur through Panipat- Ambala- Jallandhar pipeline and will be dispatched through a 16 bay tank lorry shed with 32 loading points.

The foundation laying ceremony was graced by G S Bali, Minister of Food and civil supplies, Govt of HP, Mukesh Agnihotri, Industries Minister, Govt of HP; Anurag Singh Thakur, MP, Hamirpur; Satpal Satti, MLA, Una and other dignataries.

During the function, 15 beneficiaries were handed over the LPG connections under PMUY scheme by the dignitaries. 10 GiveItUp Champions were also felicitated during the function by handing over the Thanks giving letter from Prime Minister.