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Panipat refinery expansion delayed
PM News Bureau
Panipat refinery expansion completion date has been revised again. Now it is expected to be completed by October 2005 instead of August. Originally it was scheduled for completion by December 2004 which was later revised twice to April 2005 and August 2005.
The cost of the project too is expected to go up to Rs 4,344 crore. IOC planned its Panipat Refinery expansion project in 1999 which envisaged expansion of refining capacity from the existing 6 mmtpa to 12 mmtpa. On completion, the capacity will be further raised to 15 mmtpa through a low-cost de-bottlenecking process at a cost of Rs 300 crore.
In the mean time, the company's petrochemical complex project is also facing delay. Its integrated paraxylene (PX) and purified terephthalic acid (PTA) project at Panipat is expected to be delayed by three more months. Both the plants are likely to become operational by November 2005 instead of August 2005. The PX/ PTA complex is being established on 750 acres adjacent to Panipat Refinery at an estimated cost Rs 4,228 crore. The company proposes to manufacture PX with a capacity of 350,000 tonnes and PTA with a capacity of 530,000 tonnes.
(28 Feb 2005)
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