By Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, February 9, 2019: Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) has started exporting products to countries like Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore and Myanmar from its 15-million-tonne crude oil refinery at Paradip.

Paradip Refinery, launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in February 2016 is IOCL’s 11th refinery. Former prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee had laid the foundation stone for the refinery in May 2000.

Considered to be the most modern refinery of the country, with a complexity factor of 10.7 based on Nelson Index, the refinery is configured to process high-sulphur crude oils with major secondary processing units such as Naphtha Hydro treating Unit (NHT), Continuous Catalytic Reformer (CCRU), Diesel Hydro-treatment Unit (DHDT), VGO Hydro treatment Unit (VGOHDT), INDMAX, Delayed Coking Unit (DCU), Alkylation unit, Merox, etc.

“The products exported from the refinery include naphtha, diesel, motor spirit and aviation turbine fuel. We are looking at exporting the products to Far East countries and neighbouring countries also,” an IOCL official said adding that exports account for about 10 per cent of Paradip refinery’s production at present. This fiscal, the oil major will end up achieving 14.6 million tonne in output.

IOCL’s 15 million tonne per annum (mtpa) coastal refinery at Paradip is spread over 3,345 acres, built with an estimated cost of Rs 34,555 crore. The refinery can process 100 per cent high-sulphur and heavy crude oil to produce various petroleum products, including petrol and diesel of BS-IV quality, kerosene, aviation turbine fuel, propylene, sulphur, and petroleum coke. It is also designed to produce Euro-V premium quality motor spirit and other green auto fuel variants for export.

IOCL has pledged to invest Rs 52,000 crore more on ramping up refinery capacity and commissioning some additional units of its planned petrochemicals complex. To proceed with the expansion, the oil monolith had asked for 2900 acres land around the site of the Paradip refinery complex in February 2017. But even after a lapse of two years, IOCL is yet to get any firm word on allotment of land by the Odisha government.

With the scaling up of refinery capacity and installation of petrochemical units, exports by IOCL are expected to grow though meeting domestic demand would top the oil major’s agenda.