Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will lay the foundation stone for the integrated refinery expansion and modernisation projects of Bharat Petroleum Corporation here on Monday.
The stone laying ceremony will signal the beginning of work on a pair of projects that involve a total investment of more than Rs. 20,000 crore.
The Rs. 14,000-crore integrated expansion of the refinery will make BPCL’s Kochi facility the largest public sector refinery in the country with an annual capacity of 15.5 million tonnes.
First in State
It also signals the establishment of Kerala’s first petro-chemicals complex involving an investment of Rs. 6,000 crore.
Governor of Kerala H.R. Bharadwaj, Union Petroleum Minister Veeerappa Moily, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and his senior Cabinet colleagues will be among those present at the occasion.
The environmental clearance for the integrated refinery expansion, which also involves equipping the refinery with capacity to produce Euro IV/V-compliant auto fuels, was received in November last year.
Stone & Webster of the U.S. will provide technology for the refinery’s fluidised catalytic unit. Lummus Corporation, U.S., is the technology provider for the delayed coker unit and Halder Topsoe of Denmark will be the technology provider for the diesel hydro-treater unit.
Joint venture
The public sector oil refiner has LG Chemicals of South Korea as its joint venture partner for the petrochemicals complex, which will use propylene from the expanded facility to produce acrylates, phenol, and super absorbent polymer.
The petrochemicals complex is expected to unleash a wave of fresh industrial activity in the State industry sources expecting at least a score of downstream units that will use propylene from the refinery.
Considering the importance of the project, the State government signed an agreement with BPCL on the sidelines Emerging Kerala Summit 2012 in September for providing incentives like deferment of Kerala goods and services tax, value-added tax and CST as well as to provide exemption from works contract tax.
