The Gujarat, Haldia and Mathura refineries achieved a record crude oil throughputs (product) of 10.93,4.71 and 8.91 million tonnes respectively in 1998-99. The fluidised catalytic cracking units in Gujarat and Mathura refineries achieved more than 100 per cent capacity utilisation for the 14th successive year. Production of LPG, MS, HSD and Bitumen was also the highest ever in these plants, he added. Two majorprojects being executed by the Indian Oil and scheduled to be completed in 1999 were the matching secondary processing facilities in Mathura refinery and the expansion of the capacity of the Gujarat refinery by three million tonnes per annum. Other projects being implemented included expansion of the capacity of the Panipat refinery by six million tonnes per year and the expansion of the capacity of the Baruani refinery to six million tonnes. The expansion programmes of these two plants were expected to mature by 2004-05, Pathan said.

The Baruani refinery in Bihar, which had been dependent on crude from Assam, had been functioning much below its installed capacity as supply of crude from the state was not assured now, it would no longer be required to dependent on Assam crude as pipeline had been laid from Haldia port to Barauni to bring adequate crude to the refinery, IOC sources said.

The Indian Oil is going ahead with the setting up of a refinery with an installed capacity of nine million tonnes perannum at Paradip in Orissa. The East India Refinery had recently been approved as a joint venture by the government. The board of directors of the Indian Oil has approved a joint venture with the Madras Refineries Ltd, to expand the capacity of the Cauvery basin refinery at Panagudi Nagapattinam to nine million tonnes per annum, all efforts would be made to ensure their execution as scheduled, the sources said.