Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) is planning to commission Rajasthan refinery against the original plan to place a nine million tonne facility in Ratnagiri by 2016, whose capacity will be doubled in due course of time. The company aims to fast-track the more recently planned Rajasthan refinery where ONGC is its ally, as Rajasthan can be completed faster than Ratnagiri which is likely to face delays due to slew of environmental clearances required in a sensitive coastal location.
The delay in commissioning the Ratnagiri refinery can be offset by the ONGC-controlled Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals in which HPCL has a 17% stake.
HPCL operates two major refineries producing a wide variety of petroleum fuels and specialties, one in Mumbai (west coast) of 6.5 million metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA) capacity and the other in Vishakapatnam, (east coast) with a capacity of 7.5 MMTPA.
