PM Modi to inaugurate key Tamil Nadu projects on Feb 17

New Delhi, Feb 15: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate key projects of the oil and gas sector in Tamil Nadu on February 17 via video conferencing. His office said Modi will dedicate to the nation the Ramanathapuram–Thoothukudi natural gas pipeline and gasoline desulphurisation unit at Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited, Manali.

He will also lay the foundation stone of Cauvery Basin Refinery at Nagapattinam. These projects will result in substantial socio-economic benefits and will boost the country's march towards Urja Aatmanirbharta, the PMO said.

The Ramanathapuram-Thoothukudi section (143 km) of the Ennore-Thiruvallur- Bengaluru- Puducherry- Nagapattinam- Madurai-Tuticorin Natural Gas Pipeline has been laid at the cost of about Rs 700 crore. It will help utilise gas from ONGC gas fields and deliver natural gas as feedstock to industries and other commercial customers.

The gasoline desulphurisation unit at Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited (CPCL), Manali has been constructed at the cost of about Rs. 500 crore. It will produce low-sulphur (less than 8 ppm) environment-friendly gasoline, help reduce emission and contribute towards a cleaner environment, the PMO said.

The Cauvery basin refinery to be set up at Nagapattinam will have a capacity of 9 million metric tonnes per annum. It will be set up through a Joint Venture of IOCL and CPCL at an estimated project cost of Rs. 31,500 crore.

It will produce motor spirit and diesel meeting BS-VI specifications, and polypropylene as a value-added product, the PMO noted. Tamil Nadu is among the five states going to the assembly polls in April-May.