CPCL mulls 9 mt refinery in TN
New Delhi   08-Sep-2016

Chennai Petroleum Corporation, the standalone refinery of Indian Oil Corporation, is considering feasibility of setting up a nine- million-tonne-a-year refinery in south Tamil Nadu.

Interacting with media persons following the company’s annual general meeting today, B Ashok, Chairman, CPCL, said the company would “ideally like to establish a nine-million-tonne refinery in the place of its existing one million tonne refinery in the Cauvery Basin.” However, it is open to setting up at least a six-million-tonne unit. It has adequate land of about 650 acres.

That is the only option for the company’s expansion as the scope for expansion of its 10 million tonne refinery at Manali to the north of Chennai is limited.

Gautam Roy, Managing Director, CPCL, said investment in a refinery, going by industry standards could involve up to ?2,500 crore for every million tonne of capacity.

The company is well positioned to bring in the investment through a combination of internal accruals and debt.

Ashok told shareholders that CPCL is gearing to shift to BSVI quality fuels to meet the April 1, 2020, deadline. For petrol, it is setting up a facility to bring down sulphur content at an investment of ?497 crore and revamping and increasing other related facilities at an estimated cost of Rs. 455 crore.

Posts Rs. 470-cr profit
For quarter ended June 30, 2016, the company has reported a net profit of Rs. 469.80 crore on a total income of Rs. 9,781.38 crore.

During the corresponding period in the previous year, the company reported a net profit of Rs. 925.73 crore on an income of Rs. 11,388.36 crore.

The average gross refining margin for the quarter was Rs. 8.02 a barrel compared with an average of $10.09 in 2015-16.