IOC to spend 140 billion rupees

Indian Oil Corp. (IOC) plans to spend 140 billion rupees (US$3 billion) in the next Fiscal Year that begins April 1, 2010 to expand and upgrade refineries, lay crude and product pipelines and start new projects, a senior company executive said. “We would be spending about 115.5 billion rupees (US$2.48 billion) for ongoing projects and about 24.5 billion rupees (US$525.92 million) on new projects,” the executive, who didn’t wish to be named, told Dow Jones Newswires. IOC and other local refiners are expanding their refining capacities to cash in on the advantages of cost competitiveness, better product quality, regulatory support and location. (December 29, 2009)