IOC's Rs 450 cr PQI proj to be commissioned

Vadodara, Sept 13: Indian Oil Corporation Limited's (IOCL) Rs 450 crore worth Petrol Quality Improvement (PQI) project will be commissioned at its refinery here in October, facilitating the production of Euro III grade quality petrol and supply of the same to Ahmedabad and Surat for the first time.

IOCL refinery's executive director U K Basu said the company had been importing Euro III grade petrol to Gujarat from Mathura and other refineries of the corporation.

This quality petrol would help reduce the pollution level too, he added.

Apart from this, he said the Rs 4,000 crore Resid Upgradation Project (RUP), undertaken by the refinery for producing quality petrol and diesel by processing cheaper crude, was expected to be commissioned by October, 2009. The twin projects would substantially increase the profitablity of the refinery.

In an informal chat with reporters after inaugurating the 17th annual convention on quality circle here today, Mr Basu said the refinery, which recently saved about Rs 40 crore by undertaking a major repair work without going for customary shut down of one of its production plants, had achieved a remarkable progress with regard to both production and quality.

UNI