Indian Oil implements Rs 1,000 cr pipeline projects in Gujarat

Vadodara, Apr 1 (UNI) Public sector Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has decided to expand its petroleum pipeline networks in Gujarat in a big way with an investment of over Rs 1,000 crore.

IOC Director (Pipelines) A M Uplenchwar told reporters here that the company, which had a larger stake in Gujarat in petroleum products and crude oil pipelines, had taken up a number of projects which included 103 km long Koyali-Dahej and 273 km long Koyali-Ratlam and Mundra-Kandla pipelines.

While the Rs 91 crore Koyali-Dahej pipeline was scheduled to be commissioned by July, 2006, the other two major projects estimated to cost Rs 325 crores and Rs 204 crores respectively, would be completed in next two years, Mr Uplenchwar said.

With the commissioning of new projects under implementation, Gujarat would have the largest concentration of downstream pipelines in India, he said.

At present, IOC, which accounts for 67 per cent of India's petroleum product pipelines, operates the largest network of nearly 9,000 km of crude oil and product pipelines in the country with a combined capacity of 60.42 million metric tonnes per annum. In the State, the company operates over 1,700 km of crude oil and petroleum product pipelines. Mr Uplenchwar said the company was undertaking the Mundra-Kandla crude oil pipeline and conversion of Kandla-Panipat section of Kandla-Bhatinda pipeline to crude oil service as part of the Rs 734 crore Panipat Refinery expansion linked pipelines project.

The Rs 305.60 crore project consists of utilising Single Point Mooring (SPM) facilities and associated offshore and onshore pipeline of Gujarat Adani Port limited, for handling additional crude oil for Panipat Refinery expansion.

Referring to the 330 km long Paradip-Haldia crude oil pipeline project, Mr Uplenchwar said the Rs 1,178 crore project now under implementation in the eastern part of India, was expected to be completed by next month. The project consists of installation of crude oil handling facilities at Paradip Port, including laying of 20 km transfer pipeline, development of tank farm at Paradip consisting of 15 number of 60,000 kilo litre crude oil storage tanks and laying 330 km long crude oil pipeline to Haldia.

When commissioned, it would help save Rs 1 crore per day as the pipeline would facilititate transportation of crude oil to Haldia and Barauni refineries in an efficient and cost-effective manner compared to the present system of receipt of crude oil through the Haldia Dock complex, the IOC director said.

Mr.Uplenchwar, who earlier in the day visited the office of Koyali-Ahmedabad Pipeline (FAPL) near Vadodara, to join the celebrations to commemorate 40 years of commissioning of this second oldest pipeline of the corporation, said the project had been serving as the springboard for energizing the growth of the region through supply of petroleum products.

The 116 km long KAPL, commissioned in 1966, with a capacity of 0.70 MMTPA, was now augmented to 1.10 MMTPA with the installation of higher capacity pumps to carry various petroleum products from Indian Oil's Koyali refinery to the Sabarmati terminal in Ahmedabad.

He said the company, which recently commissioned its first pipeline project--680 km long Chennai-Ttrichy-Madurai in southern India, had decided to lay a petroleum product pipeline from Chennai to Bangalore.

UNI