Govt signs MoU with IOC for FY08

New Delhi, Mar 28 (UNI) With the aim of harnessing all viable opportunities, both at national and international levels, to establish itself as the main player across the hydrocarbon value chain, the country's largest public sector company Indian Oil Corporation signed an MoU with the government today, successfully bidding for acquisition of E&P assets and crop plantation for bio-diesel.

The MoU was signed here by Petroleum and Natural Gas Secretary M S Srinivasan and Indian Oil Chairman Sarthak Behuria.

While financial performance, including gross sales, gross margin, net profit/net worth and gross profit/capital employed, and throughput of refineries and product pipelines continue to be the key parameters, project implementation has been given due weightage in the context of the large capital investments planned by Indian Oil.

Five major projects to be monitored as part of the MoU are -- Panipat Refinery expansion from 12 to 15 million metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA), Naphtha Cracker at Panipat Refinery, augmentation of Mundra-Panipat crude oil pipeline to 9 MMTPA, Panipat-Jalandhar LPG pipeline, and the Hydrocracker project at Haldia Refinery.

Assessment of customer--direct, reseller, LPG and aviation-- satisfaction has been targeted to maintain the Corporation's market leadership.

In R and D, the focus will be on development and commercialisation of product formulations. The major research projects to be monitored under the MoU include optimisation of Hydrogen-CNG blend ratio for best performance in automotive vehicles. Quality, safety and environment protection has been recognised as a key performance area.

In a manifestation of consistent outstanding performance according to laid-down criteria, Indian Oil has been earning ''excellent'' ratings for the last 17 years running. This year's MoU saw introduction of several other new key parameters such as city gas distribution in eastern sector, a 10 per cent increase in ethanol blending programme by volume, besides renewed focus on human resource development.

UNI