CPCL lines up Rs 1,392 crore capex for 2015-16

Chennai Petroleum Corporation, a group company of Indian Oil Corporation, has lined up about Rs 1,392 crore capital expenditure plans, including laying of crude oil pipeline, for this year, a top official said today.
"Our capex plan for this year is Rs 1,392 crore... Our resident upgradation project is going on. We will be spending about Rs 1,100 crore of the total estimation of Rs 3,110 crore.
"Then, we will be investing for crude oil pipeline and for small projects", Gautham Roy, Managing Director, Chennai Petroleum Corporation, told reporters here.
Elaborating about the two projects, he said the Resident Upgradation Project involves construction of major units like delayed coker unit, sulphur recovery unit and other utilities and offsite packages.

"This project is scheduled for mechanical completion by 2016. CPCL has achieved a physical progress of 54.89 per cent by end of first quarter of this financial year", he said.
On the proposed new crude oil pipeline, he said the company had undertaken work on replacing the existing pipeline as it was more than 45 years old.

"The new crude oil pipeline will be from Chennai Port Trust to Manali Refinery with state-of-the-art technology and safety features has been planned at an estimated cost of Rs 257.87 crore," he added.
The statutory approvals from Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and Petroleum Explosives Safety Organisation had been obtained in May 2015, he said.

"Currently, tenders are being floated and this project is scheduled for completion by 2016", he said.
To a query on CPCL approaching BIFR (Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction) some time ago, CPCL Director - Finance, S Krishna Prasad said the net worth had eroded more than 50 per cent as of last year but had been improving in this financial year.
"As of 31st March 2014, the net worth of CPCL had eroded by more than 50 per cent of the net worth of last four years. In line with that we filed for BIFR. Unfortunately in March 2015, the erosion continued. But I am happy to say that as of June 2015, the net worth has improved to Rs 2,569 crore," he said.

He expected that with the raising of Rs 1,000 crore by Indian Oil Corporation for capital infusion plans to CPCL, the net worth is expected to improve further.
"With Rs 1,000 crore preferential share coming in from IOCL, the net worth will improve to Rs 3,569 crore. We are confident of coming out of BIFR..", he added.