A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was recently signed at Jaipur between the Rajasthan Government and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (HPCL) for setting up a nine million tonne refinery in Barmer district of the State at an estimated capital investment of Rs. 37,230 crores.
The project is expected to take about four years for completion after getting Central approval. The proposed refinery will process the locally available crude. The refinery-cum-petrochemical complex is designed to produce motor fuels with latest environmental specifications and a wide range of petrochemicals.
The MoU was signed in the presence of the Minister for Petroleum & Natural Gas, Mr. Veerappa Moily, the Rajasthan Chief Minister, Mr. Ashok Gehlot, Ms. Lakshmi Panabaka, Minister of State for Petroleum & Natural Gas, and senior officials from the Ministry of Petroleum and HPCL.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Moily observed that the huge project investment is expected to usher in speedier economic growth of Rajasthan. Further, the signing of the MoU marked the beginning of a new phase of development and growth for the State. The proposed refinery has the potential to become an anchor industry for developing downstream and other service sector industries in and around the region.
Highlighting the unique aspects of the project, the Minister stressed that the proposed complex would be specifically designed to produce petrochemicals from indigenous crude, and appreciated HPCL’s adopting an innovative approach for achieving the best utilization of the indigenous crude.
In his address, Mr. Gehlot said the refinery project would mark the beginning of a transformation for the State in terms of industrial and economic growth.
He appreciated the efforts of HPCL in conceiving the project as a refinery-cum-petrochemical complex by facilitating best utilization of local crude. The project would produce various petrochemical products to impart robustness to the bottomline of the complex.
Mr. Gehlot also expressed the hope that the people of Rajasthan would have easy access to the petroleum products produced within the State which will be available at competitive prices. HPCL, on its part, would address all the environmental considerations adequately and also contribute to the community development around the project area.