IOC to invest Rs 4,650 cr in pipeline projects

Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the nation's largest oil firm, will invest Rs 4,650 crore in laying crude oil and petroleum product pipelines over the next three years, Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Jitin Parasada said today.

IOC is implementing crude oil pipeline projects worth Rs 3,168 crore and product lines of Rs 1,482 crore, he said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

"The projects are expected to take 30 to 36 months from the date of investment approval by the Board," he said. "The projects are expected to cover the state of Assam, Orissa, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Delhi and Haryana."

The projects include a Rs 662-crore crude oil pipeline from offshore to the under-construction Paradip refinery in Orissa. A Rs 1,793-crore line would be laid from Paradip to Ranchi via Sambalur and Raipur to transport fuel produced at the refinery.

To another question, Prasada said IOC has set up 2,672 low-cost petrol pumps in rural areas called Kisan Sewa Kendras. Hindustan Petroleum Corp (HPCL) has set up 1,334 similar outlets under the brandname Hamara Pumps and Bharat Petroleum Corp (BPCL) set up 785 rural retail outlets.