IndianOil raises capex plan by over a fifth
New Delhi   20-Sep-2009
<b>The firm will spend Rs 53,000 crore in 11th Plan period</b> The capital expenditure of IndianOil, the country's largest oil marketing company, has been revised upwards by 22 per cent to Rs 53,000 crores for the Eleventh Plan Period (2007-12). The original outlay was Rs 43,400 crores. While most of this is due to higher project costs, an investment of about Rs 1,400 crores has been earmarked for new projects. The cost escalation has been mainly due to foreign exchange variation, firming up of project scope and general price rise in equipment and machinery. The overall increase in outlay during the mid-term assessment of the eleventh plan comes to only 14.5 per cent so far as the continuing projects are concerned. Another 7.5 per cent increase has come on account of new projects, said a company official. The upward revision would be mainly on account of large projects such as the Para dip refinery, naphtha cracker plant (Panipat) and residue up gradation project at Koyali refinery of the Rs 53,000 crores, the-company is investing Rs 37,220 crores in its refining and marketing segment, Rs 14,000 crores in petrochemicals and Rs 1,775 crores in exploration and production. As on July 30, the company had achieved 43.5 per cent of the five-year project target. Paradip-Haldia crude oil pipeline, Panipat-Jalandhar LPG pipeline, Koyali-Ratlam product pipeline is the major projects completed. IndianOil has planned a capital outlay of Rs 15,000 crores for 2009-10. It has also signed an agreement with Nuclear Power Corporation of India for a joint venture company to build nuclear power plants. The company could be investing around Rs 1,000 crores in the venture.