HPCL to build 15 MTPA petrochemical complex

Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd. (HPCL) announced that it will start construction work on a 15-million-ton-per-annum (MTPA) petrochemical complex. The new complex is to be located at Vishakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, on 1,500 acres of land, at a cost of Rs 45,000 crore (US$10 billion). The company is working to acquire additional land for further expansion, which will include a complex housing cracker and aromatics facility and a captive power plant.  O.P. Pradhan, HPCL executive director, said the company is busy finalizing partners for the new project.  Partners include public sector companies, such as state-owned Oil India and GAIL (India) and multinational corporations.  Bhaswar Mukherjee, director of finance said, “We are in dialogue with Oil India and GAIL and we are also looking to partner with foreign companies for the proposed project.” HPCL reported a 48% increase in net profit for the quarter ending March 31, 2011, to Rs 1,122.66 crore (US$251.1 million) from Rs 757.53 crore (US$169.4 million) during the same quarter a year ago. (May 27, 2011, May 29, 2011)