Upcoming Bina refinery project will be ready for commissioning in 2009

Mumbai: BPCL will complete building its refinery at Bina in Madhya Pradesh by December 2009.

The grassroots refinery will have a capacity of six million tonnes a year.

As on date, orders in excess of Rs 7,000 crore in value for the refinery project have already been placed.

Mr Ashok Sinha, Chairman and Managing Director of BPCL, told newspersons after the company’s AGM that 26 per cent of the project has been completed.

The company is trying to conclude the project in advance but much depends on the availability of resources, which is beyond the control of the company, he added.

Bharat Oman Refineries Ltd, a joint venture between BPCL and Oman Oil Corporation Ltd, is building the refinery.

Once completed, the Bina refinery will boost the crude processing of BPCL by over 30 per cent.

In 2006-07, the total crude processed by BPCL stood at 19.78 million tonnes.

Mr Sinha said that the company’s Rs 1,200-crore public issue for further funding the Bina refinery is likely to hit the market by the first quarter of 2008.

The company’s board has also announced in-principle approval for setting up a joint venture company with US-based Matrix Marine Fuels on a 50:50 equity participation basis to handle bunkering in Singapore.

“Matrix Marine has a tie-up with 70 ships; therefore, it offers a good captive market. In two years, this new company is likely to undertake a business of five lakh tonnes of furnace oil,” Mr Sinha said.

He added that the company has participated in an international tender for the joint development of LPG storage, bottling and distribution facilities in Kenya.

Although the tender is worth $6 million, it offers a virgin territory for the company.

It is also making efforts to market gas used for metal cutting and brazing applications in West Asia with local partners.

BPCL, through its upstream subsidiary Bharat Petro Resources Ltd, and Videocon Industries Ltd, together as a consortium, have acquired stake in Brazilian oil exploration company, EnCan Brasil Petroleo Limitada, for $165 million.

It has interests in 10 blocks in four basins of Brazil. The blocks are in deep and ultra deep waters, Mr Sinha said.