First SPM in Mundra

Mundra Port has set up its first SPM (Single Point Mooring) at Mundra in Kutch district at the cost of Rs 350 crores. Mundra Port has entered into a 30 year agreement with Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL) for bringing crude oil using the SPM.

This crude oil will meet the requirement of Panipat Refinery. IOCL has invested Rs 331 crore in setting up terminal for the project.

Speaking on the occasion Gautam Adani, Chairman of Adani Group, said that installation of this SPM will not only make a valuable contribution to the local and national economy but would also make a big difference in the liquid cargo handling of the port.

This with a depth of 32 meters at SPM location, it will accommodate VLCC (Very Large Crude Carriers) of upto 360,000 DWT (Dead Weight Tonnage) to berth at the port.

This SPM can fully discharge VLCCs carrying upto 3,00,000 cubic meters of crude oil in just 45 hours. With operational flexibility of 365 days, the SPM can handle upto 25 million MT of crude cargo a year.

Describing partnership with Mundra Port, a major milestone, A.M. Uplenchwar, director, IOCL said "The SPM will help IOC meet crude oil requirement for its Panipat Refinery expansion project."

IOC's installation at Mundra consists of 12 tanks of 60,000 KL each and four pumping units with other equipments like Booster Pump, Emergency Generator Set, Control Pannels, etc. for storage and transportation of crude to Panipat Refinery by connecting through a pipeline with existing Kandla -Bhatinda pipelines near Churwa.

Commissioning of SPM at Mundra is a major development in the energy sector and this is being watched by country's energy majors with lot of interest, said Adani. Mundra is likely to witness development of more energy infrastructure in near future.

Last year Mundra Port out performed the industry in Gujarat with a whopping 67 per cent growth compared to previous year.

Categories that contributed most to the total growth in the year 2004-05 included import cargoes like Coal, Fertilizer, Steel Plates, Steel Coils, Scrap and Sugar as well as export cargoes like Clinkers, Steel Pipes and Minerals.

Mundra Port is a part of the Rs 16,000 crore Adani Group, whcih has interests in global trading, port development and operations, edible oil, SEZ development, gas distribution, retail and IT enabled services.