IOC commissions oil pipeline in eastern India

India’s largest state-run oil refiner, Indian Oil Corp. (IOC), said it has started commissioning a 102-kilometer oil pipeline in eastern India, which will reduce its transportation costs. The pipeline, which runs from the port city of Paradip in Orissa state to Haldia in West Bengal, costs 14.2 billion rupees (US$297 million) and includes a single-point mooring system at Paradip port, the company said in a statement. The project also includes laying a 330-kilometer crude oil pipeline to connect with its existing Haldia-Barauni pipeline at Haldia. (December 31, 2008)