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Rewari in Haryana is poised to emerge as an important pipeline hub for Hindustan Petroleum Corporation. It is from here that petrol, diesel and kerosene will be carried to Uttar Pradesh from its Punjab and (upcoming) Rajasthan refineries.
“Rewari will be the new, critical hub for supply of fuels through a pipeline to Kanpur,” S Roy Choudhury, Chairman and Managing Director of HPCL, told Business Line. The 440-kilometre network will pass through Haryana and Rajasthan en route to UP.
Demand for auto fuels is growing at a rapid pace in north India and HPCL is keen on making the most of this opportunity.
The commissioning of the Bhatinda refinery in Punjab a couple of years ago dramatically changed the fuel supply dynamics for HPCL. Not only has it managed to get a foothold in the elusive northern region but is now ideally poised to deliver petrol and diesel to Pakistan. All it takes is a 100-km long pipeline from Bhatinda to Lahore.
More recently, HPCL announced its plans to set up a nine million tonne refinery in Barmer, Rajasthan, again intended to consolidate its presence in this part of the country and, specifically, UP and Bihar. It is here that Rewari will play an important role as a pipeline hub for the Barmer and Bhatinda refineries whose products will be transported here (via pipelines) and then carried further to Kanpur.
Rewari is, incidentally, an important transit point for HPCL’s 1020-km pipeline from Mundra in Gujarat to Delhi. This is a critical network which supplies petrol, diesel and kerosene to the northern region.
With the Bhatinda refinery now taking over a large part of this responsibility, some of the products from Mundra can be diverted to the new Rewari-Kanpur pipeline. Along with the fuels from the Punjab and Rajasthan refineries, this network could end up being HPCL’s most critical lifeline for the future.
Traditionally, IndianOil has been the strongest player in north India. It is only of late that Bharat Petroleum Corporation (with its Bina refinery in Madhya Pradesh) and HPCL have also moved in to make their presence felt. The potential here is immense especially in states like UP and Bihar where the growth story is just beginning.
Little wonder that BPCL is already contemplating a refinery in Allahabad which could become a reality by 2020. It is also exploring the possibility of expanding capacity of its Numaligarh refinery in Assam which could then cater to the needs of Bihar and UP.
From HPCL’s point of view, the Rewari-Kanpur pipeline is the most pragmatic option going forward especially when the Rajasthan refinery becomes a reality. With an estimated carrying capacity of over seven million tonnes, this link could be extended further in the near future keeping in line with the growing demand for fuels in the northern region.
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