MRPL likely to start operations at phase-III unit by December

Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals (MRPL) is aiming to start operations at its phase-III unit by December, which is due to delay in completion of the captive power plant by BHEL. The main components of phase-III, such as coker and FCC (fluid catalytic cracking) units, are energy consuming ones, which needs the captive power plant to be ready.

The captive power plant would supply around 110 MW to the refinery. According to the original schedule, the captive power plant should have been commissioned in April last year. In August 2008, MRPL took up phase-III project to expand the processing capacity of the refinery from 11.82 million tonnes a year (mt) to 15 mt a year, and to upgrade the low-value products into high-value ones.