Nagarjuna Oil's PCPIR project in TN to go on stream in 2015

The first phase of Nagarjuna Oil Corporation Ltd’s (NOCL) petroleum refinery project, which is the anchor unit for the Petroleum, Chemicals and Petrochemicals Investment Region (PCPIR) in the Cuddalore-Nagapattinam region, is expected to go to on stream in 2015, according to a Business Standard report. The Rs 25,000-crore project is being set up at Thiruchopuram in Cuddalore district in Tamil Nadu by NOCL, a joint venture of Nagarjuna Fertilizers and the government's Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation.
 
While the proposed capacity of the refinery is 12 million tonnes (mt) a year, in the first phase, implementation of six mt yearly capacity will be completed. Of the total estimated investment, till end-March this year, Rs 7,400 crore had been spent.
 
Commencement of the project was delayed due to damage to tanks and the port structure from Cyclone Thane, which hit the coastal districts of Tamil Nadu in 2012-13.
 
Work on the project, which was planned in July 2001, was started only in 2006, after all the clearances. The Union government has declared the project the anchor unit for its PCPIR in the Cuddalore-Nagapattinam region. The refinery is designed for producing feedstock of Euro-III and Euro-IV standards.