Numaligarh Refinery signs MoUs for mega expansion plan

In the run up to the implementation of its mega refinery expansion plan, Assam-based Numaligarh Refinery Ltd (NRL), a subsidiary of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), today signed two important memorandums of understanding (MoU), one with Dhamra Port Company Limited (DPCL) for import of crude oil and LPG and the other with Cement Corporation Of India (CCI) for utilisation of raw petroleum coke, likely to be generated at NRL after its proposed capacity expansion.

The capacity augmentation of NRL from its current 3 MMPTA (million metric tonnes per annum) to 9 MMTPA had been included in the 12th five year plan of Union ministry of petroleum and natural gas along with a proposed crude oil pipeline for transportation of imported crude from Dhamra port in Odisha to Numaligarh Refinery in order to meet the additional crude requirement consequent to refinery expansion.

Detailed Feasibility Report for the proposed refinery expansion and the related crude oil pipeline are under preparation, company sources said.

The MoU with DPCL was signed for carrying out techno-commercial feasibility study for putting up 6 MMTPA bulk crude oil import facilities by NRL as well as 1 MMTPA  bulk LPG import facilities by BPCL at Dhamra Port in Odisha in the country's east coast.

"The proposed crude oil pipeline route of approx 1,338 km length to traverse through the states of Odisha, West Bengal and Assam has already been identified and a detailed survey for construction of the same is in progress," a company statement stated.

As per the MoU, DPCL will build the required jetty facilities along with associated infrastructure for unloading of bulk crude oil and bulk LPG carrying ships at Dhamra port at their own cost, whereas NRL will construct the bulk crude oil storage facilities as well as crude evacuation facilities through pipeline at Dhamra port.

The MoU with CCI spelled out strategic tie-up between the two  companies whereby 3,60,000 tonnes per annum of Raw Petroleum Coke (RPC), likely to be generated at NRL after its proposed capacity expansion, would be used for generation of power utilising the Circulating Fluidized Bed(CFB) technology. As per the MoU, a power plant of the size of around 75MW is proposed to be set up at Bokajan considering the availability of fuel grade RPC from Numaligarh Refinery and limestone available near Bokajan.