Date:25/03/2006 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/03/25/stories/2006032502490500.htm

Back RPL to set up two SBMs at Jamnagar

Gaurav Raghuvanshi

Facilities target crude oil, SEZ requirements

"The SBMs will also be used for loading products so that we have greater flexibility. While a single shipment of products on a VLCC type vessel is rare, we feel that the SBM should be equipped to handle products," sources said.

Jamnagar , March 24

The Mukesh Ambani-controlled Reliance Group plans to set up two new Single Buoy Mooring (SBM) units off the coast in Jamnagar to cater to the upcoming 33 million tonnes refinery of Reliance Petroleum Corporation (RPL).

Apart from catering to the requirement of crude oil unloading in the deep sea, the SBM facility will also be used for loading products for export from the upcoming Special Economic Zone (SEZ) Refinery.

Similar SBM facilities operated by Kandla and Mundhra ports in Gujarat are used only for discharging crude in deep sea.

Use of an SBM for sending out products will be the first of its kind feature in India. "The SBMs will also be used for loading products so that we have greater flexibility. While a single shipment of products on a VLCC (Very Large Crude Carrier) type vessel is rare, we feel that the SBM should be equipped to handle products," sources in the company told Business Line.

Reliance already has two SBMs and a four-berth liquid cargo terminal at Sikka near its Jamnagar refinery. The draught available at the jetty, about two km into the sea, is about 14 metres, while the SBMs offer a depth of 30 metres and can handle VLCC vessels.

Apart from its own facilities, Reliance uses the Vadinar-Kandla under-sea pipeline of Petronet Ltd to pump its products. Reliance also boasts of a modern truck-loading system for transport of different products by road. The automated system works with minimum human intervention and there are virtually no company staffers to carry out loading operations.

"We have a computer-controlled loading infrastructure for road tankers. As soon as a tanker enters the refinery, the driver is issued a smart card and directed to a loading bay where the driver has to simply fit the nozzle and a pre-determined quantity of the product flows in," a Reliance official said.