CPCL mulls adding refinery at Narimanam
New Delhi   08-Sep-2016

Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd., (CPCL), a subsidiary of Indian Oil Corporation, is planning to set up an additional refinery at Narimanam in Nagapattinam District of Tamil Nadu to meet higher demand for petroleum products in the state. “Action has already been initiated to explore the possibility for capacity expansion at Cauvery Basin Refinery (CBR) where land and other infrastructure are readily available,” said B. Ashok, Chairman, CPCL, at the company’s 50 Annual General Meeting.

As per the proposed plan, CPCL may set up either a six million tonnes or nine million tonnes refinery. The cost per tonne is estimated to be between Rs.2,200 and Rs.2,500 per tonne. It would take roughly four to five years to set up the unit.

“The new refinery will also provide many opportunities to invest in petrochemical units in the long term. We are planning this at CBR as we don’t have enough space in Manali,” he said.

LNG terminal
Asserting that the IOC-Ennore LNG Terminal would be ready by the first quarter of 2018, Mr. Ashok said as an anchor company, CPCL would utilise natural gas in the Manali refinery as internal fuel. For the current year, CPCL will incur a capital expenditure of Rs.1,500 crore. About Rs.900 crore would be set aside for Resid Upgradation project and the balance for laying new crude oil pipeline and to meet BS-IV norms.

Mr. Ashok added that due to its recent improved performance, CPCL was no longer required to report to the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction from April.