IOC identifies Ennore as next growth hub

30 July 2007 16:29  [Source: ICIS news]

NEW DELHI (ICIS news)--Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) said on Monday that Ennore in Tamilnadu state would be its next big growth centre for projects that might include an export-oriented refinery and/or petrochemicals complex, and a liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal.

 

IOC is currently implementing a slew of refining and petrochemical projects at its brownfield site Panipat in Haryana state and greenfield site at Paradeep in Orissa state.

 

IOC chairman Sarthak Behuria said at a press briefing that the main challenge was to secure a long-term arrangement for the import of LNG.

 

He said Ennore would be the growth centre after Paradeep in the long term. Different projects were being evaluated, he added.

 

Behuria said Ennore was important for the company as it had a relatively new port where IOC already had facilities for handling imported petroleum products.

 

IOC’s subsidiary Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited (CPCL) is spear heading a proposal for setting up an integrated refinery-cum-petrochemicals complex at Ennore with investment of Indian rupees Rs350bn ($869m).

 

The project would be implemented as a joint venture between the two companies.

 

Engineers India Limited has already undertaken a pre-feasibility study on the project which will have refining capacity of 15m tonnes/year, an olefins complex and a paraxylene plant.

 

CPCL has already requested Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas to help it acquire 3000 acres at Ennore for the project.

 

CPCL has proposed to exchange feedstock and intermediates through pipelines between the proposed and its existing refinery at Chennai, which is about 30 kilometres from Ennore.

 

Under a separate initiative, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) has proposed to relocate its existing oil installation at Chennai to Ennore as a much bigger oil terminal spread over 100 acres.

 

The proposed greenfield terminal would receive petroleum products, ethanol, hexane, solvents, from an oil jetty at Ennore port and an IOC terminal.

 

($1 = Rs40.31)

ICIS Copyright © Reed Business Information 2009

Author: Naresh Minocha
+65 6780 4359

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