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Haldia jetty thirsts for work

CRUDE TANKERS calling at the Haldia dock are facing pre-berthing detention problems despite there being three oil jetties. When several tankers from Indian Oil Corporation carrying crude for Haldia Refinery arrive at the same time, only two jetties, having pipeline connections with the refinery's storage tanks, are able to handle the load. The third jetty has been constructed in such a way that it can handle crude only for IOC's Barauni Refinery and is connected to the Ha ldia-Barauni crude pipeline network.

The two other jetties, therefore, have to divide time for product and crude tankers for Haldia Refinery.

For nearly two weeks now, there has been no crude tanker at Haldia's third oil jetty as there is no demand for imported crude from the Barauni Refinery. Moreover, the Numaligarh Refinery is yet to begin commercial production. As a result, the Barauni Ref inery continues to get some crude from Assam oilfields.

The low sulphur crude imports from Nigeria have reportedly proved costly, mainly because of high shipping freight. As a result, IOC might opt for high sulphur crude from nearby sources for its Barauni Refinery. Till such time, the third oil jetty mi ght have to wait for ships. -- Our Bureau