The much delayed Rs 534 crore hydrotreater unit at the Guwahati Refinery of the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) will be commissioned by September 30.
The assurance was given by IOC to minister of state for petroleum and natural gas Santosh Kumar Gangwar at a review meeting today. The unit was originally scheduled to be commissioned in December 2001. The hydrotreater unit, needed for improving the quality of high-speed diesel, was approved on February 25, 1999. The approved cost of the project was Rs 497 crore.
The unit, with a capacity of 6,00,000 tonnes, along with associated facilities such as a hydrogen unit and a sulphur recovery unit, has been hanging fire because of the unavailability of start-up hydrogen.
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However, sources said IOC was not pushing the project also because of the lack in demand of high-speed diesel in the Northeast, where refineries have been operating at a loss.
The petroleum ministry is keen on the timely completion of the project in order to protect the environment in the hill states of the Northeast.
The unit has made improvements in the smoke-point of raw kerosene as well.