IndianOil to infuse Rs 1,480 cr on expansion of pipelines
New Delhi   24-Aug-2007
State-run refiner IndianOil plans to invest about Rs 1,480 crore on expansion of pipelines carrying crude oil and petroleum products. "IndianOil plans to increase pipeline capacity "from 61.718 million tons to 75.480 million tons by March 31, 2008," Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dinsha Patel said. The company will invest Rs 1,178 Crore in the 11 million tonne Paradip-Haldia crude oil pipeline and Rs 224.69 crore in the 2 million tonne Koyali-Ratlam pipeline for transport of petroleum products. It will invest another Rs 48.58 crore in aviation turbine fuel (ATF) pipeline from Chennai refinery to Air Force Station in Chennai City and Rs 28.61 crore in augmentation of Bongaingaon-Siliguri section of the Guwahati-Siliguri pipeline. To a separate query, Patel said IOC had not put on hold its proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal at Ermore in Tamil Nadu. " IndianOil is in the process of pursuing with various prospective LNG suppliers for long-term supply of LNG," he said. The company, he said in another reply, was in the process of identifying suitable land clusters for developing Jatropha plantation in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Oil from Jatropha is to be doped in diesel to reduce the nation's oil import dependence. " IndianOil has applied for allotment of 30,000 hectares of non- forest waste land to the collectors of Dhar and Jhabua in Madhya Pradesh. It has also proposed to the state government of Chhattisgarh for participating in the area of bio-fuel plantation he said. No commercial production of bio-diesel (diesel doped with non-edible oil like from Jatropha) has started yet, Patel said. The Minister also said IndianOil was in discussion with Reliance for procuring gas for internal consumption in its refineries. Reliance is to begin production from its eastern offshore Krishna Godavari basin field from July 2008.