IOC plans Rs 200-crore expansion in Kerala

Kochi: Indian Oil Corporations (IOC) Kerala chapter is planning a Rs 200-crore infrastructure expansion in Kerala. This include the Rs 100-crore pipeline project connecting the petroleum jetty at Kochi to IOCs Irumbanam terminal, the capacity addition of Irumbanam and Wellington Island terminals, a new jetty for barge, and the capacity addition for LPG plants.

IOC general manager Navanith Krishnan, in an interview, said these projects would be completed in a span of two years. Our major thrust will be on infrastructure development to face the challenges. Other major oil companies entry into the Kerala market in this period cannot be ruled out, so IOC should be prepared to meet the competition. It wouldnt be easy for new companies to compete with us as we have a strong infrastructure base in the state. Despite this, we intend to increase our capacity.

A capacity addition of 4,500 tonne has already been done at the Wellington Island terminal, which has a capacity of 50,000 tonne; the terminal can now be used for direct import. Also, a 24,000 tonne capacity addition project has already been introduced at Irumbanam terminal, apart from the recent commissioning of two jetties - South Tanker Berth and Irumbanam.

Says Krishnan: One of our major projects in this region, the 2x600-mm pipeline will connect the oil tanker berth of the Cochin Port Trust to IOC's Irumbananam terminal for receiving the petroleum products from tankers. The contract has been awarded to FEDO, and the work would be completed by 2002.

IOC also plans to connect the Ernakulam terminal to tanker berth by pipeline - the project is in the planning stage. The capacity addition of LPG plants is another major infrastructure development that is on the anvil.

The plants at Kozhikode, Kochi and Kollam currently have a capacity of handling 90 loads per day. These plants will be expanded to handle 200-to-300 loads per day. IOC plans to construct new LPG bottling plants at Kannur and Kottayam where modern filling machines will be used. The IOC depot at Kannur will be restructured.

IOC, Krishnan says, will construct LPG filling stations for vehicles. This is to meet the future demand, as more and more automobiles are getting changed into LPG mode.