Positive Energy
New Delhi   24-Jan-2012

West Bengal is a no oil zone but at least two companies, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and the privately-owned, CALS Refineries, are gung-ho about the states business prospects in the hydrocarbons space. Even Gail has teamed up with HPCL and Greater Calcutta Gas Supply Corp (GCGSC) to set up a 2,000-crore gas grid in Kolkata through a pipeline.

IOC has completed a 2,900 crore expansion of its Haldia refinery that included setting up a hydrocracker unit and upgrading the existing refining capacity by 1.5 mmtps to 7.5 mmtpa. Following the expansion, the refinery is now producing Euro-III and Euro-IV grade petrol and diesel.The company has also earmarked 70 per cent of its 13,000 crore capex for a paraxylene project in Haldia and in a Paradip refinery.

The company plans to expand refining capacity to 9 million tonnes and build a petrochemicals complex to produce paraxylene for which a viability study is being done.

CALS Refinery,on the other hand,is in the process of setting up a 10 mmtpa refinery in Haldia at an investment of 12,000 crore.The project involves relocation of CENCOs US refinery,ATASs refinery in Turkey and some equipment from BayernOil refinery at Ingolstadt,Germany.The project will be implemented over a period of 42 months from the award of EPC contract with part of the facility going on stream in 24 months.

The resulting configuration for CALS Refinery with a combination of all the refineries along with the addition of diverse new equipment is slated to make the project one of the most "complex" refineries in Asia. The refinery will be configured to produce Euro III/Euro IV quality fuel and will also have propylene and benzene units.

Meanwhile, Gail has floated a special purpose vehicle (SPV) with HPCL and Greater Calcutta Gas Supply Corp (GCGSC) to distribute gas in the city. It plans to apply to the Petroleum & Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) for gas distribution license in Kolkata Metropolitan areas. It eventually plans to distribute 10 million standard cubic metres of gas every day in the state. That’s about enough to generate 2,000 MW of power.

Once completed, the project will supply gas to the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Area (KMDA), covering Kolkata, North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, Howrah, Hooghly, Kalyani and Nadia districts. The project will transport gas from various sources like coal bed methane, gas from KG basin and Jagdishpur and import LNG.HPCL and GAIL will hold 37 per cent each in the SPV. The remaining 26 per cent will be with GCGSC. The JV will also improve existing infrastructure of GCGSC and build the new gas grid.