Rajasthan government on 18 April 2017 signed a reworked Barmer refinery Memorandum of Understanding with Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL).
The MoU was signed for the Rs 43,129 crore Barmer refinery in the presence of Rajasthan’s Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and the Union minister of state for petroleum and natural gas, Dharmendra Pradhan.
Key Highlights
• Vasundhara Raje negotiated the terms and conditions of the deal, scrapping the previous one on the grounds that it was in favour of HPCL.
• According to sources, as per the new deal, the state’s viability gap funding for 15 years will come down to Rs 1123 Cr instead of earlier estimated Rs 3736 Cr annually.
• The cost of the refinery along with a petrochemical complex has, however, gone up to Rs 43,129 Cr from the earlier estimated cost of Rs 37229 Cr.
About the project
• The Barmer refinery will be the first in the country to produce BS-VI standard fuels.
• The existing refineries in the country currently produce on BS-III fuels but they will be upgraded to produce BS-IV fuels.
• The power at the new refinery will be generated using petroleum coke, a by-product of oil refining process, instead of gas.
• The state government will have 26% stake in the project and the rest will be held by HPCL.
• The government has already made 4800 acres of land available for the project at Pachpadra.
• The project is expected to take around four years to reach completion.
Though the project has already received the required environmental clearance, HPCL would require some more government approvals, which may take few more months.