Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis inaugurated on Monday the new eco-friendly crude distillation unit of oil major BPCL here.
Equipped with a capacity of 6.0 million metric tonnes per annum, it has been constructed at a cost of Rs.1,419 crore and replaces the old crude and vacuum units of the BPCL refinery here.
Pradhan said that the BPCL has spent Rs.1.50 crore towards towards measures to safeguard environment by reduction in carbon emission levels.
"In view of the increasing demands for petroleum and petro-products in coming 25 years, the government has decided to set up a new refinery with a capacity of 550 MMTPA in west coast of Maharashtra by April 2017," he said.
The BPCL refinery was commissioned in 1955 by Burmah Shell Refineries Ltd with a capacity of 2.20 MMTPA and after nationalization in 1976, it expanded through low-cost revamps and adopting new technologies.
Now, its installed capacity stands at 12.0 MMTPA with three crude and vacuum distillation units and matching secondary processing and treatment facilities.
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The new unit, inaugurated on Monday, will ensure cleaner environment and efficient use of energy with lower emissions and reduction in energy consumption.
For instance, the sulphur-dioxie emissions here would be less than 10.mt/d - the lowest amongst all refineries in India - while reduced energy consumption by 30 percent would lead to fuel savings of Rs.128 crore annually.