Paradip, May 24: Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on Tuesday laid the foundation stone of India's first `zero residue' refinery to be built by Indian Oil Corpration near Paradip port in Orissa. With an initial capacity of nine million tonne per annum, the refinery is being termed as `zero residue' as it would handle only high-value distillate products. It would be one of the most modern refineries in the world.Although Vajpayee said the cost of the refinery alone will be Rs 8,312 crore, many in IOC believe it would go up to more than Rs 12,000 crore when the project is commissioned in August 2003. Vajpayee also urged the management of the Fortune 500 company to complete the project ahead of schedule to meet the challenges of liberalisation.
The Paradip unit will be the eighth refinery of IOC and will meet the growing requirement of petroleum products in Orissa and neighbouring areas.
A new marine terminal with a single- point mooring facility, the first of its kind in the east coast, will be installed to receive imported crude oil directly from very large crude carriers like Suezmax into refinery tanks.
The processing scheme of the refinery includes the combination of hydrocracker unit (HCU) and delayed coker unit (DCU) for maximisation of distillates, particularly jet fuel/ kerosene and diesel.
IOC has selected state-of-the-art global process technologies from UOP, ABB-Lummus and Black & Veatch Prichard (all from the US), Shell of Netherlands and Haldor Topsoe of Denmark.
Every year, the refinery will produce about 4,50,000 tonne of petrol, 8,00,000 tonne of jet fuel/ kerosene and 5,200,000 tonne of diesel. In addition, about 3,50,000 tonne of cooking gas as well as 1,150,000 tonne of naptha for production of fertilisers and petrochemicals will be provided.Besides, 2,25,000 tonne of elemental sulphur will be produced from the refinery.
Engineers India Ltd (EIL) has been appointed as project management consultant for overall management. Open art primary units like crude and vacuum distillation unit and auxiliary facilities like effluent treatment plant, raw water system, crude and product tanks, plant and non-plant buildings are being designed by EIL.
The design of other units like hydrocracking, delayed coking, catalytic reforming, DHDS, IGCC and hydrogen unit is being done by various licensors of global repute. The refinery will be constructed through lumpsum turnkey contracts for engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning.
Copyright © 2000 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.