Date:23/09/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/09/23/stories/2006092306531700.htm

Business

IOC chemical park in Haldia

Special Correspondent

Mulls foray into E&P and city gas distribution

MUMBAI: The Rs. 7,000-crore oil bonds, which the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) will be receiving from the Central Government, will help the corporation improve its profits, IOC Chairman S. Behuria said here.

Addressing the 47th annual general meeting (AGM) of IOC here on Friday, Mr. Behuria said that price discounts of about $1.53 a barrel, together with incremental market-related under-realisation, had pushed down gross refinery margins to $4.60 from $6.21 a barrel in the previous year.

The corporation would have a capital expenditure of Rs. 8,000 crore in the current fiscal for various expansion programmes in the refining and petrochemical segments. It is having a vision of growing from a $41 billion turnover company today to $60 billion by 2011-12, with investments of Rs. 55,000 crore. According Mr. Behuria by that year the company would be refining 80 million tonnes annually. On the corporation's plans in the petrochemcial segment, Mr. Behuria said that besides the two petrochemical hubs coming up at Panipat and Paradip and equity investment in Haldia Petrochemicals, the company was planning to develop a chemical park in Haldia. The corporation also planned to enter the businesses of exploration and production and city gas distribution. In its second year in gas marketing, the company sold about 1.30 million tonnes of re-gassified LNG last fiscal.