Oil major Indian Oil Corporation-owned Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited (CPCL) on Tuesday announced that it intends to expand its refining capacity by six million tonnes, at a cost of Rs. 10,000 crore.
Company managing director K. Balachandran said that though the proposed expansion is actually for nine million tonnes, it would be offset by the scrapping of the outmoded first unit of the refinery, with an installed capacity for refining three million tonnes of crude oil.
He made the announcement while releasing the financial results of the company at a media conference here.
With the proposed expansion, the total effective capacity of the refinery would increase to 16 million tonnes.
Mr. Balachandran said that the CPCL is also vigorously pursuing the proposal for laying a new 42” crude oil pipeline from Chennai Port to its Manali Refinery.
The new route would be adjacent to the shore, along the Chennai-Ennore Express Corridor. The 11.5-km-long pipeline proposal, which is in an advanced stage of obtaining clearances, would be completed in less than a year at a cost of about Rs. 100 crore.
After the new pipeline is commissioned, the 40-year-old existing pipeline would be scrapped. Mr. Balachandran also said that the existing line was not causing any pollution as it was laid underground.
The CPCL is also evaluating a proposal for the installation of a single-point mooring off Ennore, meant for crude oil imports to its Manali Refinery.
Most pre-project activities, including marine geo-physical study, geo-technical study, pipeline route survey and soil investigation, have already been completed, he said, adding that environment studies and detailed engineering for the on-shore portion are currently in progress.
The Rs. 1,200-crore project is expected to be completed in 36 months from the date of final approval, he said.
For meeting auto fuel quality specifications of Euro III/IV norms, the CPCL is currently implementing Euro IV projects at a total investment of Rs. 2,615 crore, Mr. Balachandran said.
CPCL is also in the process of converting the existing Semi-Regenerative Catalytic Reformer (SCR) to a Continuous Catalytic Reformer (CCR) for increasing the octane number to meet Euro-IV specifications, besides maximising its capacity.
The unit, along with the isomerisation unit of the Euro IV project, would help CPCL meet the increased MS demand.
The estimated cost of the project has been posted at Rs. 270 crore.
