Infrastructure company Marg is hoping to pump out refined products through a pipeline for Chennai Petroleum Corporation (CPCL) via its Karaikal Port. This assumes significance as it translates to further strengthening of business at the private port which is strategically located between the Chennai Port and Tuticorin Port.
It may be recalled that there is already a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Karaikal Port and CPCL which facilitates the petroleum company to use Karaikal Port for supplying crude oil to its Cauvery basin refinery at Nagapattinam. If this new business avenue materialises, on one hand, the port would be used for supplying crude that is imported to the refinery and on the other hand, it would be used to export refined products for CPCL.
GRK Reddy, chairman and managing director, Marg, said there is definitely a possibility. The company continues to explore all possible avenues for cooperation with its partner CPCL. As the CPCL refinery starts operating at full capacity with the aid of the crude imported through Karaikal Port, Marg is hopeful of handling refined products for CPCL for exports. However, the ultimate decision would rest with CPCL as the volumes to be exported to domestic or international destinations by sea would have to justify the investments into the infrastructure needed to handle the same.
As far as the existing MoU between Karaikal Port and CPCL is concerned, the port will provide the necessary infrastructure facilities and services to handle the required volume of crude. CPCL will lay the pipelines to transport the imported crude to its refinery from the port. The pipeline to evacuate and transport the imported crude to the refinery is being designed and built by CPCL. It would be done completely underground and would in fact traverse the riverbed of the Vettar river on the southern side of the port before reaching the refinery at Nagapattinam.
Though CPCL has its own jetty infrastructure near the port, it was unable to fully utilise the installed capacity at its refinery due to want of crude oil. They were not able to supply more crude into the refinery as the jetty had its own constraints such as permissible vessel and parcel sizes.