Indian Oil to implement major projects in 2009; competition in petro-retail to increase

03 January 2009

Indian Oil Corporation has announced plans to commission major refinery projects during 2009.

Reports quoted B N Bankapur, IOC's director for refineries, as saying that projects scheduled for commissioning during this year include the expansion of the Panipat Refinery, a naphtha cracker complex adjacent to the Panipat Refinery, and hydrocracker project at Haldia.

He said capacity at the Panipat Refinery would be expanded by three million tonnes to 15 million tonnes, and a naphtha cracker complex adjacent to the unit would be commissioned this year, as would be a once-through hydrocracker project at Haldia.

Terming 2009 as the 'Year of Commissioning' for IOC, Bankapur said that IOC remained committed to complying with the government's Auto Fuel Policy, and accordingly, petrol and diesel quality for Delhi and the national capital region and 12 other cities would be in accordance with Bharat Stage-IV norms starting 1 April, 2010.

Presently, these regions are BS-III stage compliant, while the rest of the nation uses BS-II fuel. The new policy will see the rest of India shift to BS-III fuel.

IOC's refineries had a capacity utilisation of 104 per cent in 2008, processing 48.9 million tonne of crude oil.

Amidst this expansion, public sector oil marketing companies are gearing up to face some competition from private sector players who had exited the petroleum distribution business at the height of the oil price spike last year.