The Hindu Business Line : IOC to seek board approval for Paradip refinery project

INDIAN OIL is planning to seek board approval to go ahead with the jinxed Paradip refinery project. The company is confident that the preparatory work for the 15-million-tonne project, including the appointment of project management and engineering, procurement and construction contracts will begin this year.

Company sources said that the detailed feasibility report (DFR) of the project had been recently approved by the Chairman. "We are now trying to finalise a date for the project evaluation committee (PEC) meeting. If the PEC meeting takes place in the next few days, we will seek board approval on its next meeting scheduled on January 27," an IOC official said.

In case the PEC meeting is not held this week or early next week, the proposal will be placed for board approval in February.

On whether the project could take off this year, the official said, "It will surely take off in this quarter." Though details of the proposal were not disclosed, the sources said that the capacity of the refinery had been finalised at 15 mt.

The company had previously proposed the setting up a refining-cum-petrochemicals complex at an estimated cost of over Rs 20,000 crore. However, the latest proposal focuses only on the refinery with a provision for setting up a naphtha-cracker in the second phase.

First taken up more than a decade ago, Paradip refinery project has been postponed time and again. The proposed configuration of the refinery has also undergone a sea change. An expenditure of Rs 600 crore in acquiring land and other preparatory work will pave the way for faster implementation once the project is taken up.