“We have submitted a proposal to the Union Petroleum Ministry seeking approval of increasing refining capacity and laying new pipelines that has been agreed in principle by the Ministry,” Dipak Chakravarty, Managing Director of NRL told this correspondent ,while sharing his future plans with this correspondent today. He further informed that the proposal worth around Rs 20,000 crore would facilitate new business and employment.

“We will construct a 150-km pipeline from India to Bangladesh to ferry high speed diesel (HSD). The pipeline will connect Siliguri (West Bengal) to Parbatipur (Bangladesh). As the river route is not feasible given the current scenario, we have to rely on other options, “ Chakravarty said, adding that two other pipelines from Dhamra Port (Orissa) to Numaligarh and Siliguri to Patna are also included under the 12th Five Year Plan.

Asked whether NRL would get the required funds for the project in the backdrop of weak economic fundamentals, Chakravarty replied in the affirmative saying NRL could generate funds in the appropriate time.

Replying to a question about shortage of crude supply, he revealed that the new pipeline ( Dhamra Port to Numaligarh) has been planned to meet the crude requirement. “The total crude requirement of all the four refineries in Assam is seven million metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA) against the production of five MMTPA. To meet the demand, the Petroleum Ministry has taken a number steps,” he informed.

Throwing light on the ongoing projects, the MD of NRL revealed that the Rs 577-crore Petroleum Wax project is likely to be completed by next year, while the Naptha Splitter project which is aimed at supplying petrochemical grade naptha to Assam Gas Cracker Project will be commissioned this year.