Numaligarh Refinery Ltd (NRL), a subsidiary of the state-owned Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), has appointed SBI Capital Markets for debt syndication of Rs. 151.02 billion for capacity expansion. BPCL holds 61.65% stake in NRL, while Oil India holds 26% and the Assam government owns 12.35% in the refinery.
However, as part of its strategy to divest stake in BPCL, the government last November decided to carve out NRL from BPCL. Oil India Ltd and Engineers India Ltd-led consortium have agreed to buy 48% stake in NRL.
"NRL has recently been accorded the environmental clearance from the ministry of environment, forest and climate Change for the refinery expansion project. SBI Capital Markets Limited has been appointed for debt syndication of Rs. 151.02 billion," said D Rajkumar, chairman and managing director, BPCL.
The capacity of NRL is being expanded from the present 3 million metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA) to 9 MMTPA at an investment of Rs. 22,594 crore. The expansion will likely be completed in four years and is expected to meet the refining requirements of the country's northeast region.
The expansion involves laying down a crude oil pipeline from Paradip in Odisha to Numaligarh and a product pipeline from Numaligarh to Siliguri. NRL, set up at Numaligarh in Assam’s Golaghat district, in accordance with provisions of the Assam Accord signed on 15 August 1985, and has been associated with the industrial and the economic development of the region.
The refinery is also laying down a 130 km Indo-Bangla Friendship Pipeline (IBFPL) for exporting NRL products from the Siliguri Marketing Terminal to Bangladesh.
