Hindustan Petroleum plans R45,000 crore expansion near Pachpadra

Indian state-owned Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd. (HPCL), which accounts for about 20% of the petroleum products market in India and also about 10% of the country’s refining capacity, has planned investments of more than R45,000 crore (US$7.54 billion).
The company’s board needs to grant final approval to the R40,000 crore (US$6.7 billion) refinery/petrochemical complex in Rajasthan along with another R5,000 crore (US$838 million) liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal project with the Shapoorji Pallonji group in Gujarat. The company will begin discussions with the Rajasthan government once the approval is granted. The complex is expected to produce 9 million tons a year, according to a senior company official.
HPCL will hold a 74% stake in the project with the balance of 26% being held by the Rajasthan government.
HPCL will have the entire marketing rights for all of the products, including petrochemical products, produced by the refinery. ONGC and Engineers India Ltd are likely to pick up some stake in the project going forward.
On June 24, a state-level team approved a new location for building the complex, a senior official said.
The 15-member task force headed by Chief Secretary C.K. Mathew approved the new location near Pachpadra in Barmer district instead of the earlier site of Leelala near Baitu in the same district, said Secretary of Mines and Petroleum Sudhansh Pant, who was also part of the team.
The new location about 6 kilometers away from Pachpadra was qualitatively better than Leelala, Pant said, adding it was found most suitable to meet HPCL’s techno commercial, technical and non-tangible requirements.
The refinery work would start soon after the foundation laying ceremony, he said.
Initially, the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), which has a stake in Cairn India’s Barmer oil block, had come up with the plan to build a refinery in the region. Later, the project was picked up by HPCL.
The facility, the first refinery in Rajasthan, is planned to go on stream in four years.
(June 11, 24, 2013)