Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) is planning to invest Rs 54,000 crore on various major projects in Tamil Nadu in the next few years. The projects include the new 9 MTPA grass-roots refinery along with CPCL at an estimated cost of Rs 35,580 crore at Nagapattinam, product pipelines at Rs 2,600 crore, city gas distribution projects at Rs 7,570 crore and gas pipelines, including for LPG, at Rs 2,225 crore.
IOC will also be building world’s second-largest integrated lubes complex at Ammulvoyyal village at an investment of `1,398 crore besides a new terminal at Asanur at Rs 466 crore, the Vallur terminal at Rs 724 crore and a captive LPG jetty at Kamarajar port at `921 crore. The company will also be spending Rs 2,500 crore on new retail outlets and modernisation of the existing ones.
VC Asokan, executive director, and state head, Tamil Nadu & Puducherry, IOC, said, “ For IOC, Tamil Nadu is an important market and we are constantly investing in the state to improve the infrastructure, product offerings and services. IOC has achieved 10% ethanol blending with petrol in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry last year, and we are working towards 20% ethanol blended petrol by 2025 in line with government mandate.”
The company is venturing into setting up LNG dispensing stations across the country where LNG will be dispensed for heavy vehicles for use as transport fuel. “We are establishing six LNG dispensing stations in Tamil Nadu. One is in pilot stage at Sriperumpudur, other stations will be at Ponneri, Othakadai, Nammakkal, Coimbatore and Konneripalli, This fuel will be an alternative to diesal and very useful for long haul vehicles,” he said. IOC has set up 400 electric vehicle (EV) charging stations and plans to set up another 300 stations this year.
On the retail front, Asokan said to meet the growing demand IOC has called for setting up 1,775 new retail outlerts in Tamil Nadu and 65 outlets in Puducherry. IOC is the market leader in Tamil Nadu with a share of 56.4% in domestic LPG, 36.8% in petrol and 45% in diesel business. He said the company is in talks with state governnments of Tamil Nadu and Kerala on green hydrogen dispensation and making the fuel available for the transport industry.
IOC’s Tamil Nadu office caters to the fuel requirements of 38 districts of the state and two districts of Puducherry through a vast distribution network of 2,826 retail outlets, 932 LPG distributors and 121 CNG outlets, among others.