Mittal says Bathinda refinery capacity may double

Hindustan Mittal Energy Ltd in Bathinda may double capacity to 360,000 barrels per day, ArcelorMittal chairman Lakshmi Mittal said, at the opening of the plant that could help trade ties between the nuclear-armed India and Pakistan.

The oil refinery, a joint venture of state-run Hindustan Petroleum ) and billionaire Lakshmi Mittal’s Mittal Energy, opened the Bathinda plant on Saturday.

The $4 billion plant is located 100 km (62 miles) from the border with Pakistan and 175 kilometres from the city of Lahore.

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The refinery is the first investment in downstream oil sector by Mittal, Chairman of ArcelorMittal, the world’s biggest steelmaker. Mittal Energy has a venture with state-owned Oil & Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), which has offshore oil exploration blocks in Nigeria.

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Mittal said the refinery will feed fuel into deficit markets of northern India. HPCL Mittal Energy Ltd, a joint venture of Mittal’s Mittal Energy Investments and state-owned Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) was built in 42 months.

HPCL and Mittal Energy Investment Pte Ltd, Singapore - a Lakshmi Mittal Group company, hold 49 per cent stake each in HEML, while 2 per cent is held by financial institutions. The refinery has high Nelson Complexity Index which will enable maximising value-added products even from heavy/sour crudes. Crude oil to the refinery is to be ferried through a 1,014 km pipeline from Mundra in Gujarat where the oil is imported from abroad.

The new unit has raised the total oil refining capacity in the country to 213 million tonne per annum, from 198.886 million tonne.

Agencies