HPCL-Mittal Energy Limited (HMEL), a joint venture (JV) between Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL ) and Mittal Energy Investment, Singapore, today said the ambitious nine-million tonne oil refinery will attract an investment of Rs 1,300 crore in polypropylene-based downstream industry in the state.
“We think after the completion of the refinery, there will be an investment of Rs 1,300 crore in downstream industry in the state,” HMEL CEO Prabh Das said. The JV partners hold a stake of 49 per cent each in the company, the rest two per cent being held by financial institutions.
Two MoUs were also signed by the HMEL refinery with Punjab Spintex and Northern Polyfilms for the supply of polypropylene, which will entail an investment of Rs 40 crore. “The using capacity of both these companies will be 6,000 tonnes of polypropylene,” Das said. The company has always been seeking incentives from the state government he said. “The response of the state government has always been supportive (with regard to demand of financial sops),” he said.
Bathinda refinery would be one of the few in the country with a capacity of 4.40 lakh tonnes of polypropylene, an official said, adding that currently polypropylene granules were produced in Gujarat and Maharashtra.
With Ludhiana, Bathinda, Banur and Lalru being seen as attractive locations for setting up a polypropylene-based industry, about 50 per cent of the total produce would be consumed by the state itself, he said.
He added that polypropylene granules were mainly used by plastic industries like those of woven sack and film units as the main raw material in the manufacturing of plastic items such as buckets, mugs, toys, plastic furniture, wrapping films, woven sack bags for cement and food grains.
Das said the Rs 18,919-crore oil refinery was expected to be commissioned by June next year. “An investment of Rs 13,700 crore has already been made in the oil refinery," he said.
After commissioning, the refinery would produce high-value petroleum products such as LPG, naphtha, petrol, diesel, aviation fuel and pet coke. The liquid products would be marketed through HPCL and the solid ones like sulphur, pet-coke and polypropylene would be sold directly by HMEL.
As per the break up, the capacity of major products like diesel will be 3.7 million tonnes, followed by one million tonne of petrol, 0.7 million tonnes of LPG and 0.9 million tonnes of coke in the upcoming refinery.
HMEL has been asking for Rs 400-crore a year as interest-free loan for the first 15 years from 2011-12 to 2025-26, which is to be paid back every year from the 16th year onwards for the next 15 years.
Speaking on the occasion, Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal said the state would receive an investment of Rs 82,000 crore from four upcoming power projects and the Bathinda refinery.
Taking a dig at the previous Congress-led state government, he said they did not bring a single big project in the state during its tenure. “But we want to tell that we do what we say,” he said.
