Refinery report

Govt to consider refinery project at Allahabad: Deora

Rae Bareli (UP), Feb 20: With the general elections approaching, the government will consider reviving the long pending project to set up a refinery at Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh.

"We will discuss the possibility of setting up of the refinery in the next one week and a decision will be taken," Petroleum Minister Murli Deora said at the foundation stone laying ceremony of Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology here.

Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd had in early 1990s proposed to set up a six million tonne refinery at Allahabad to feed the northern market.

However, the project was put on cold storage with domestic refining capacity far exceeding the full demand in the country. Against a demand of 119 million tons of fuel in 2006-07, the refining capacity in the country was 147 million tons.

BPCL is also setting up a six million tonne refinery at Bina in Madhya Pradesh to feed the central and northern markets. The project is to be completed by 2011.

HPCL is also setting up a 9 million tonne refinery at Bhatinda in Punjab; to complete by 2011-12, that will make the northern region surplus in capacity.

Deora said the prospect of the refinery in Allahabad will be studied in the next one week and a decision will be taken based on the study.

Bureau Report