Nagarjuna Oil's TN refinery to be commisioned next yr

Nagarjuna Oil Corporation (NOC), which is setting up a 6-million-tonne refinery at Cuddalore in Tamil Nadu, plans to launch an initial public offer after the refinery is commissioned by the end of 2011.

“We aim to commission the Rs 6,960-crore refinery by the end of 2011. All the units will be operational by March 2012. Thereafter, we will look to dilute part of the 51 per cent promoter equity,” Managing Director S Rammohan said. Nagarjuna Oil is a subsidiary of Hyderabad-based Nagarjuna Fertilisers and Chemicals.

The unit would start processing crude oil in December 2011 and achieve full commissioning by March 2012, he said.

The company has tied up with British energy major BP Plc for sourcing crude oil to be processed at the refinery. BP would also be responsible for the export of 25 per cent of fuel produced at the unit, he said.

“The remaining product will be sold domestically. We have signed with Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) for selling 4 million tonnes of products to meet domestic demand,” he said.

The refinery will have additional process units, offsites, and utilities, including captive power plant, crude receipt and product evacuation facilities. On completion, the refinery project will produce some of the finest-quality petro products, including Euro-IV and Euro-V auto fuels, LPG, and bitumen.

The Nagarjuna group had partnered with the Tamil Nadu government and Tata Petrodyne Ltd and a few other companies to implement the refinery project. While Nagarjuna Fertilisers holds 51 per cent stake in the company, 30 per cent is owned by Tata Petrodyne, 10 per cent by Cuddalore Port, 5 per cent by the Tamil Nadu government and 4 per cent by Uhde GmbH.

Rammohan said NOC planned to expand the refinery to 15 million tonnes a year at a cost of Rs 11,000-12,000 crore. “Studies for the expansion will begin after the refinery is commissioned,” he added.