CPCL refinery at Nagapattinam to be built with state-of-the-art technology

The new grass root refinery of the Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited (CPCL) in Nagapattinam district will produce petrol and diesel of Bharat Stage-VI specifications and polypropylene as a value-added product.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation for the project through video conferencing on Wednesday.

According to a press release, the project is to be implemented at a cost of ₹31,580 crore. In addition to it, investment of ₹4,000 crore would flow from other stakeholders on Build Own and Operate (BOO) basis. The 9 million metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA) capacity refinery will be set up in an area of about 1,300 acres, out of which 618 acres are already owned by CPCL. The process was on to acquire the remaining land.

The release further said the refinery will be built using state-of- the-art technology with modern equipment conforming to the latest standards. The refinery would have a crude processing unit and other secondary processing units to produce petroleum products. It would also have a polypropylene unit as a part of petrochemical integration with the potential to increase petrochemicals units in the future. The power and steam requirement for the refinery will be met by a captive power generation unit with environment-friendly re-gasified liquid natural gas (RLNG) as fuel.

The water requirement of the refinery will be met by a desalination plant. The effluents from the refinery will be treated to meet the environmental standards. As part of refinery facilities, Single Point Mooring (SPM) will be installed in deep-sea approximately 19 km from the coast for handling the crude oil through Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCC).

During the construction phase of the refinery complex, it was expected that 100 contractors would be engaged, thereby providing employment to 25,000 in the peak period. During the operation phase, it is expected to provide direct and indirect employment to over 7,600 persons.