ONGC to up refinery capacity

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) plans to double the capacity of its lesser know mini-refinery at Tatipaka from 80,000 tonnes per annum to 1.6 million tonnes per annum.

The need to raise the capacity of the refinery, which is located in the East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh, rose because of the surplus ONGC crude from the Krishna-Godavari basin which is being currently shipped to the Vizag refinery of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited.

After the expansion of the refinery, which is expected to take around three months, ONGC will be able to use most of its crude production from the KG Basin in its own mini-refinery obviating the need to transport it to Vizag.

The executive committee of the corporation has already cleared the proposal. ONGC is expected to shortly take up the task of placing orders for the equipment to raise the refinery's capacity.

Known as a well-head refinery, it was commissioned on September 3, 2001. It produces products like naphtha, kerosene, petrol and diesel which are marketed by BPCL.