NRL to increase production capacity

The Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL), based in Guwahati, India, will increase its production capacity to make itself viable. The company’s production capacity will jump from three to eight million metric tons per annum. “The expansion would cost between Rs8,000 (US$1.6 billion) and Rs10,000 (US$2 billion) crore and will be completed by the end of 2017, the end of the 12th plan period,” NRL Managing Director Dipak Chakravarty said. He added that during the 12th five-year plan, demand projections for petroleum products supported the refinery’s capacity expansion plan in as far as product absorption is concerned. “If the plan materialises, the company would achieve an economical scale of operation in the next few years and this would pave the way for making the refinery viable,” he added. NRL had discussed the capacity expansion plan with officials from the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, as well as the Planning Commission. The company’s 2010-11 fiscal year was good because it had the highest sales turnover of Rs8,972 crore (US$1.8 billion), a 13.9% increase over last year’s Rs7,874 crore (US$1.79 million). (September 9, 2011)