Indian Oil plans to invest 54,000 crore in projects, including a refinery in Tamil Nadu

The Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), Chennai, has agreed to invest Rs 54,000 crore in a number of projects in Tamil Nadu over the coming years, including a 9 MMTPA grass-root refinery at an estimated cost of Rs 35,580 crore, according to its executive director and state head (TN & Puducherry), V C Asokan. On over 1,300 acres of land in Nagapattinam, this new refinery will be built. It will generate polypropylene as well as petrol and diesel that meets BS-VI criteria.

Apart from building the second-largest integrated lubricants complex in the world at Ammullaivoyal village for Rs. 1,398 crore, the IOCL also has plans to lay product pipelines (Rs. 2,600 crore), gas pipelines including LPG (Rs. 2,225 crore), CGD projects (Rs. 7,570 crore), open new retail stores and start a modernization programme (Rs. 2,500 crore), build a captive POL/LPG jetty at Kamraj.

"Tamil Nadu is a significant market for Indian Oil, and we are continually investing in the state to improve the infrastructure, product offerings, and our services." He declared that 6 LNG dispensing stations would be built by Indian Oil in Tamil Nadu. While the other stations will be built in Ponneri, Othakdai, Namakkal, Coimbatore, and Koneripalli, one station in Sriperumbudur is already in the pilot stage.

The largest fuel marketer and refiner in India has started blending biodiesel with diesel at the Sankari terminal and will shortly begin in Asanur and Coimbatore as well. Asokan stated, "We will start in other places in a methodical manner. He responded to a query by saying that since hydrogen is pollution-free, substantial research is being done to use it as an alternative fuel. "But the challenge is that the price of green hydrogen produced from water electrolysis should be economically viable for the consumers,".