Two oil terminals in Odisha dedicated to nation

Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Wednesday dedicated two oil terminals of Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) at Jharsuguda and Jatni in Odisha to the nation.

The Paradip-Raipur-Ranchi pipeline was also dedicated to the nation.

Speaking at Jharsuguda, Pradhan said these state-of-the-art facilities will further strengthen storage and distribution of petroleum products in Odisha, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh.

He proposed making natural gas available in Jharsuguda district through the pipeline, which will be connected to the Dhamra natural gas regasification plant.

The integration of the Paradip refinery with Jatni and Jharsuguda oil terminals through the Paradip-Raipur-Ranchi pipeline in Odisha will be an enabler for faster evacuation of petroleum products from the Paradip Refinery, he added.

The said pipeline is further connected to the Ranchi oil terminal of Jharkhand as well as Korba and Raipur oil terminals of Chhattisgarh.

The total cost of these projects is about Rs 2,800 crore.

These facilities will help in meeting the growing demand of petroleum products in the region and contribute to its growth, said an official release.

IOCL chairman Sanjiv Singh said the biggest and modern automated oil terminal of Odisha at Jharsuguda is another important milestone for uninterrupted and automated delivery of fuel to 10 districts of western Odisha.

The districts are Bargarh, Bolangir, Deogarh, Jharsuguda, Keonjhar, Kalahandi, Sundergarh, Sambalpur, Sonepur and Nuapada.

The terminal at Jharsuguda is part of the government's continuing endeavour to build a world-class and automated oil terminal in Odisha, he added.

The fully-automated terminal at Jharsuguda with a total investment of Rs 140 crore has the facilities for safe and efficient bottom loading facilities, automated quality and quantity control, scheduling and tank farm management.

The project has led to enormous employment opportunities in Odisha indirectly in terms of haulage and housekeeping, security, maintenance, canteen and tank truck crew.

--IANS

cd/tsb/bg