State-run oil refiner Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) is all set to start work on the petrochemicals complex in Kochi with all green clearances in place and securing a Rs.4,000-crore loan commitment from State Bank of India. BPCL Chairman and Managing Director S. Varadarajan has said the Kochi petchem project is part of the Rs.1 lakh crore planned capex for the next five years, out of which Rs.40,000 crore will be spent on refining capacity addition alone.
The Rs.5,000-crore Kochi petrochemiclas project was announced in December 2011 as part of a Rs.20,000-crore expansion of the Kochi Refinery. But the project suffered a big set back after the Korean chemicals major LG Chem walked out of the joint venture in August 2013 citing adverse international environment for large investments.
Points to Note
- The Kochi refinery currently produces petrochemical feed stocks such as benzene, toluene and propylene. Post-expansion and technology upgrade, it will be able to process Euro-V petrol and diesel.
- BPCL currently has four refineries — in Mumbai, Kochi, Bina in Madhya Pradesh and Numaligarh in Assam.
What is Project Sankalp?
- BPCL announced a massive expansion of its refining capacity to 50 million tonnes from 30 million tonnes at an investment of Rs.40,000 crore over the next five years as part of its planned Rs.1 lakh crore capex under Project Sankalp.
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