By IANS,
New Delhi : State-run Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) Thursday signed an MoU with the Rajasthan government in Jaipur for setting up a 9 million tonne per annum refinery-cum-petrochemical complex, the oil ministry said here.
To be set up at Barmer, Rajasthan, at an investment of Rs.37,230 crore, the refinery will be India’s costliest.
HPCL will execute the project in asociation with Rajasthan State Refinery Ltd (RSRL) and others, and it would be operational in around four years time.
The MoU was signed by Rajasthan’s Secretary, Mines and Petroleum. Sudhansh Pant, and K. Murali, Director (Refineries), HPCL.
Petroleum Minister M. Veerappa Moily who was present on the occasion said the refinery would become a catalyst for the development of downstream and other service sector industries in the area.
According to Moily, the Barmer refinery project was the first to be specifically designed to produce petrochemicals from indigenous crude.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, lauding HPCL for the initiative, said it was a historic one for Rajasthan, that will mark the beginning of a transformation of the state in terms of industrial and economic growth
Minister of State for Petroleum Panbaka Lakshmi was also present on the occasion
In a filing to stock exchanges, HPCL said the refinery would process Rajasthan crude in addition to crude from other sources.