IOC to invest Rs 9,028 crore for setting up a new crude oil pipeline

Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL) is setting up a new crude oil pipeline system with a nameplate capacity of 17.5 million tonnes per annum (MMTPA) from Mundra (Gujarat) to Panipat (Haryana).

A company statement said Indian Oil will also build 9 crude oil tanks of 60,000-kiloliters each at Mundra, which, apart from meeting operational requirements will also help in enhancing crude oil storage capacity in the country. The total estimated cost of the project is Rs 9,028 crore. The investment proposal was approved by the Indian Oil Board, at its meeting held on December 20.

IOCL said it is implementing a project for capacity expansion of Panipat refinery from 15 MMTPA to 25 MMTPA, along with the installation of Polypropylene Unit and Catalytic Dewaxing Unit with targeted completion in the second quarter of the 2024-25 financial year. The new pipeline system and crude oil tank storage will help meet the enhanced need of crude oil requirement due to the expansion of the Panipat refinery.

IOCL operates a network of more than 15,000-km long crude oil, petroleum product, and gas pipelines. Indian Oil added 337 km of additional pipeline length during the year 2020-21 and plans to continuously expand the network in line with growth in business. The company achieved a throughput of 76.019 million metric tonnes during 2020-21.

IOCL’s existing pipeline network has a throughput capacity of 94.56 million metric tonnes per annum of oil and 21.69 million metric standard cubic meters per day of gas. Projects under implementation will further increase the length of the pipeline's network to about 21,000 km, and throughput capacity to 102 million tonnes per annum.

Indian Oil is also planning to lay a 1,244-km pipeline to reach Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) imported at Ennore to Nagapattinam, Tuticorin, Madurai and Bengaluru. In July 2019, IOCL also commissioned the Motihari-Amlekhganj Pipeline, the first transnational pipeline of the country.

Source: Business Standard