State-run refiner Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOC) will invest ₹9,000 crore to build nine crude oil storage tanks at Mundra port and boost the capacity of the Mundra-Panipat Pipeline (MPPL) to support the planned expansion of Panipat refinery to 25 million tonnes (mt) a year.
IOC signed an agreement with Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ), which runs Mundra port, to augment the refiner’s crude volumes at the port located in Gujarat, APSEZ said in a statement.
Currently, IOC operates a crude oil tank farm in an exclusive area in Adani’s Mundra Special Economic Zone, consisting of 12 tanks with a capacity of 7.2 lakh kilo litres (KL).
The addition of nine tanks will augment the storage to 12.6 lakh KL, making Mundra port the largest port-based crude oil storage facility for IOC. This will be accompanied by an augmentation of the MPPL capacity to 17.5 mt a year.
The augmented storage will allow IOC to blend an additional 10 mt of crude oil a year at Mundra port.
Rising demand
In December, the board of IOC approved a capital expenditure of ₹9,000 crore for the additional crude oil tanks and MPPL augmentation. IOC is raising the capacity at its Panipat refinery by 66 per cent, to 25 mt a year, amid India’s rapidly growing energy requirements.
“Mundra Port is a major economic gateway that serves the northern hinterland of India by providing multimodal connectivity. As IOC’s trusted long-term partner, APSEZ is well equipped to handle the additional 10 mt crude oil at our existing single-buoy mooring (SBM) at Mundra,” said Karan Adani, CEO and whole time director, APSEZ.
A part of IOC’s crude oil requirement of 15 mt for its Panipat refinery is handled at the SBM at Mundra port. The Mundra SBM is located 3-4 km off the coast, where very large crude carriers (VLCCs) arrive to unload. An undersea pipeline then transports the crude oil to the tank farm and, thereafter, to the refinery at Panipat via the Mundra-Panipat pipeline.