The Hindu Business Line : Essar Oil starts trial runs at Vadinar refinery

Re-starting work on the refinery from March last year, after a gap of about two years, the refinery has been wrapped up four months ahead of the scheduled date, March 31, 2007.

During the trial run, the plant will start with a refining capacity of 7.5 million tonnes of crude, which will be gradually scaled up to its full capacity of 10.5 million tonnes within the next two quarters. The refinery has been set up at a cost of Rs 10,826 crore.

The company is planning to export about 30 to 40 per cent of the production over a period of time, the rest being for the domestic market. The location of the refinery near the Vadinar port will ensure the company easy access to all international markets, including Europe and the US.

The company has set up an oil terminal at Vadinar, which is an integrated facility to receive crude through a single point mooring system and dispatch finished products through its product jetty. The terminal can handle 12 million tonnes of crude intake per annum, with a capability to handle tankers up to 3.5 lakh DWT and product dispatch facilities with a combined capacity of 14 million tonnes.

The terminal, which includes a port, tank farm, associated pipeline network and storage and dispatch facilities, has been set up at a cost of Rs 2,857 crore.

Outlets

Essar already has in place a network of 900 retail outlets, with plans to set up 2,500 outlets by 2007. This will provide the refinery a ready outlet for the domestic market, as also to bulk consumers.

Mr Shashi Ruia, Chairman of Essar Group, said the commissioning of the refinery was at a time when India was strengthening its presence in the global markets.

The refinery will be producing petrol and diesel suitable for use in India as well as other global markets. "It will also produce LPG, naphtha, light diesel oil, aviation turbine fuel and kerosene, with a capacity to handle a diverse range of crude — from sweet to sour and light to heavy," a company press release said.

The company's shares closed at Rs 51.65 on the BSE on Friday, up by Rs 0.40 (0.78 per cent) from the last closing price.

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