From Our Correspondent
GUWAHATI: The Union Cabinet has approved the capacity expansion plan of the public sector Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) in Assam with an investment of Rs 22,000 crore from 3 MMTPA (Million Metric Tonnes Per Annum) to 9 MMTPA.
The expansion plan involves setting up of crude oil pipeline from Paradip to Numaligarh and product pipeline from Numaligarh to Siliguri at a cost of Rs.22,594 crore. The project is to be completed within a period of 48 months, after approval and receipt of statutory clearances, according to the NRL managing director S K Baruah.
The total project cost will be financed by a mix of debt, equity and Viability Gap Funding (VGF). The debt of Rs.15,102 crore will be raised by Numaligarh Refinery Ltd (NRL) and apart from its internal accrual of Rs.2,307 crore, the promoters, namely, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd, Oil India Ltd & Government of Assam (GoA) will contribute to equity. The project will be supported by Viability Gap Funding of Rs.1,020 crore from the Government of India.
The expansion of the refinery will meet the deficit in petroleum products in the Northeast. It will also sustain the operations of all Northeast refineries by augmenting their crude availability.
The NRL capacity expansion project is expected to generate direct and indirect employment in Assam and is a part of the government’s Hydrocarbon Vision 2030 for the North East.
“This mega project would usher Assam and the NE region in a new era of economic and industrial development by boosting large scale investment opportunities and creating robust direct and indirect employment opportunities. An estimated 8,000 people would be involved in executing the project during its construction,” Baruah said.
The refinery was set up in accordance with the provisions made in the historic Assam Accord signed on August 15, 1985, and was conceived as a vehicle for speedy industrial and economic development of the region.
It was dedicated to the nation by the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on July 9, 1999. It began commercial production of fuel in October 2000.
India currently has an oil refining capacity of 249.4 million tonnes per annum, which outstrips the demand of 206.2 million tonnes of petroleum products like petrol and diesel. (With PTI input)