Billionaire Lakshmi N. Mittal on Saturday said capacity of his first downstream oil venture here will be doubled to 18 million tonne in future.
Speaking at the formal opening of the Rs. 21,500 crore Guru Gobind Singh Refinery here, Mr. Mittal said the 9 million tonne a year unit will help in energy security of the country and make Punjab a petrochemical hub.
“The capacity of the refinery can be increased to 18 million tonne per annum in future,” he said at the function where Prime Minister Manmohan Singh formally dedicated the unit to the nation.
The refinery is the first investment in downstream oil sector by Mittal, Chairman of ArcelorMittal, the world’s biggest steelmaker. Mittal Energy has a venture with state-owned Oil & Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), which has offshore oil exploration blocks in Nigeria.
Mr. Mittal said the refinery will feed fuel into deficit markets of northern India.
HPCL Mittal Energy Ltd, a joint venture of Mittal’s Mittal Energy Investments and state-owned Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) was built in 42 months.
HPCL and Mittal Energy Investment Pte Ltd, Singapore — a Lakshmi Mittal Group company, hold 49 per cent stake each in HEML, while 2 per cent is held by financial institutions.
The refinery has high Nelson Complexity Index which will enable maximising value-added products even from heavy/sour crudes. Crude oil to the refinery is to be ferried through a 1,014 km pipeline from Mundra in Gujarat where the oil is imported from abroad.
The new unit has raised the total oil refining capacity in the country to 213 million tonne per annum, from 198.886 million tonne.
Start-up of Bhatinda refinery will help boost India’s exports and may open fuel sales to Pakistan.
Pakistan allows imports of fuels including petrol and diesel from India, after removing non—tariff barriers on November 2. The distance between Bathinda and Lahore is about 100 miles.
Crude oil basket has steadily risen since January 1999 from $20 to $125 a barrel or by 6.25 times.Yet we have gradually increased its consumption as evidenced by increase in oil import bill from Rs. 27,000 crore or 1.54% of GDP in FY 99 to about Rs. 810,000 crore about 9 % of GDP in FY 12 or by massive 30 times. We have even increased its role in our energy mix. Most unfortunately we have completely ignored cheap domestic coal and hydro, free infinite solar heat light and steam. How long it will go on? How long we will keep hurting poor Indian economy by high energy cost and all important oil and gas sector by very high under recoveries? Why we are not looking at free option of infinite solar in place of cooking water heating fuels and free electric traction in place of costliest motor fuels? Easily replaceable cooking fuels are being subsidized while irreplaceable petrol is being highly taxed.This remains the greatest puzzle for me. Please use, price and tax petro products rightly.
This a a great news for Punjab. This refinery will add jobs and
infrastructure to Punjab.It should pave way for many more industries and
after removal of trade barriers with Pakistan, now Punjab can develop
into a major trading hub. Way to go..!!
All successful businessmen are in a way visionaries. They look at long-
term gains. A refinery is much better than a goldmine long-term.
How much sops[SUBSIDY] Mittal has been offered?Can the same be NOT
offered to the Indian PSU OMCs and people?
The Indira Congress party claims that,the Petroleum Sector is loss-
making,though the National State exchequers have been filled to the tune
Rs 2,25,000 Crores for 2011/12.
AND WHY DOES A SHREWD BUSINESSMAN LIKE,MITTAL START A LOSS-MAKING VENTURE,with an Indian OMC PSU?He even talks of doubling the
capacity.Double whammy!
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