NRL chalks out Rs 20,000 crore refinery expansion plan

Numligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) has chalked out a Rs 20,000 crore refinery expansion plan to increase its present capacity from the present 3 million metric tonne per annum (MMTPA) to 9 MMTPA.
PSU major Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited holds 61.65 per cent stake in NRL, while Oil India Ltd and the Assam government have 26 per cent and 12.35 per cent shareholdings respectively in the firm.
"The demand for products has already been studied for enhanced product configuration, and plan implementation can only be possible with the whole-hearted support and cooperation of vendors," NRL Managing Director P Padmanabhan said at the refinery's first vendor meet yesterday.

Bharat Petroleum, NRL's holding company, would lift about 70 per cent of the product to fulfill its existing demand for products while the region and its geographically contiguous countries like Bangladesh, Nepal and Myanmar are being explored for selling the balance products.
NRL would implememt a bio-refinery with technology from Finland-based Chempolis Oy by converting bamboo biomass, which is available in abundance in the region, into ethanol which would not only add value to company margins but also encourage local entrepreneurs to plant bamboo on a commercial scale, Padmanabhan said.
NRL's Director (Technical) S R Medhi said growth can only take off if there is flow of investment and the smooth implementation of the refinery expansion project would depend a great deal on the cooperation and support from vendors.

NRL's Director (Finance) S K Barua said the refinery was at present rolling out business worth Rs 400 crore to Rs 500 crore annually, which will increase to Rs 1,500 crore to Rs 2,000 crore once the refinery expansion project takes off.