RIL's new refinery overtakes old complex in processing

Reliance Industries' (RIL) new 5,80,000 barrels per day refinery at Jamnagar in Gujarat is performing better-than-expected and has overtaken the company's adjacent old refinery in processing crude oil.     

RIL last month commissioned all units of the new only-for-exports refinery that turned Jamnagar into the world's largest refining complex, with a combined crude processing capacity of 1.24 million bpd.     

The 29 million tonnes a year new unit, that sits next to the old 6,60,000 bpd (or 33 million tonnes a year) refinery, is operating at 114 per cent of its rated capacity and is processing more crude oil than even the older, bigger unit, industry sources said.     

A company spokesperson did not immediately offer any comments.     

The old plant in August operated at 106.6 per cent of its rated capacity to turn 2.988 million tonnes of crude oil into fuel, the data available from the Petroleum Ministry here said. During April-August, it operated at 98.3 per cent of the capacity, turning 13.595 million tonnes of crude into petroleum products.     

RIL had in August started an 85,000 bpd alkylation unit, the only remaining facility to be started at the new refinery, to begin producing petrol meeting the stringent US and European standards.

It had in December 2009 commissioned the new refinery and has progressively started all of the units at the giant facility and has since then shifted focus of its fuel exports from Asia to Gulf and Europe, sources said, adding the company was also directly selling auto fuel into the US when it shipped 184,000 tonnes of petrol.     

The company imported about 1.224 million bpc of crude in August, up from about 1.078 milion bpd the month before and around 549,000 bpd a year ago.