Indian Oil May Revise Ninth Plan Outlay For East

IOC executive director for marketing, based in Calcutta, S Rammohan, said the company had already struck a marketing agreement with the Soros Chatterjee group. The SBM project is, however, a different proposition which IOC may take up on its own to increase the availability of crude to the extent of 16 million tonnes in the eastern region. At present, only preliminary studies have been undertaken on the project.

The SBM project which has been studied by an expert group appointed by the Calcutta Port Trust has identified Digha and Saugor as the possible sites. However, IOC prefers Digha. An estimated Rs 800 crore will be required to install an SBM at either of the places.

 

IOC will also take up capacity expansion at Haldia and Barauni refineries at an investment of Rs 165 crore. It is laying two pipelines by investing Rs 1,000 crore. The 575km long Haldia-Barauni crude pipeline will cost Rs 953 crore while the 8km long Haldia-Budge Budge product line will cost Rs 40 crore. Another 550km product pipeline from the proposed refinery at Paradeep to Ranchi will be laid. Detailed surveys are at present being undertaken.

According to Rammohan, IOC would invest Rs 716.15 crore for LPG projects alone, in the eastern region. Altogether 21 bottling plants will be constructed in the region at a total cost of Rs 480 crore during the 9th Plan period. The total capacity of these 21 plants is proposed to be 448,000 metric tonnes per annum. The LPG import facility at, which is under commissioning at a cost of Rs 170 crore, will have a handling capacity of 400 metric tonnes per annum. Two bottling plants at Ragnoo in Sikkim and Bislagarh in Tripura which will yield 10,000 metric tonnes per annum are about to be commissioned at a cost Rs 15 crore. The capacity augmentation of the existing four bottling plants at Kalyani, Durgapur, Jamshedpur and Balasore, with combined additional capacity of 134,000 metric tonnes per annum, are in the various stages of commissioning at a cost of Rs 15.15 crore. At Budge Budge a Rs 36-crore LPG bottling plant with a 44,000 metric tonnes per annum capacity is under construction.

With regards to petroleum products (POL) projects, Rammohan said IOC would invest Rs 961.45 crore in the eastern region. Already it owns 78 per cent of the total storage capacity in the region. Two more oil installations at a cost of Rs 104.25 crore are coming up at Paradeep and Jatni with a combined capacity of 145,000 kilo litres. Storage capacity augmentation are under commissioning at 12 locations.