Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL), which is setting up a seawater desalination plant at an estimated cost of ₹620 crore, is planning to commission it in the third quarter of 2020-21.

Addressing presspersons in Mangaluru on Saturday, M Venkatesh, Managing Director of MRPL, said that some units of MRPL have to be shutdown in summer on account of water scarcity. The need for water for domestic usage will increase as the city grows, and the water supply demand in summer months will also increase in future.

In order to ease pressure on water supply during summer months, MRPL is setting up a seawater desalination plant. This will ensure water for use by the refinery, and will allow MRPL to ensure uninterrupted supply of petroleum products even during the period of water scarcity, he said.

With a capacity of 7 million gallons a day, the desalination plant is expected to be commissioned in the third quarter of 2020-21.

MRPL is looking at temporary desalination solutions for the summer of 2020, he said, adding: “We have got favourable response from the international market in this regard.”

The company, which is using around 3 MGD (million gallons a day) of treated municipal sewage, is targeting to increase the intake even further. All these initiatives will help reduce company’s dependence on freshwater, he said.

To a query on the impact of water scarcity on MRPL’s production, Venkatesh said the production was affected because of the shutdown of certain units. However, the people in the hinterland did not feel so, as the company worked closely with other PSU oil companies to ensure uninterrupted and continuous supply of petroleum products to its hinterland, he said.

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