NRL supplies around 25,000 tonnes of diesel and 6,000 tonnes of petrol every month to BPCL’s petrol pumps. The products are mainly dispatched by rail. But some are also transported by barge to the Budge Budge terminal.

For producing the Euro III grade fuel, the crude is refined further to reduce the sulphur content in diesel and benzene in petrol. However, the process results in a 10 per cent drop in output from the same quantity of crude that is processed.

“Since the price for these cleaner fuels has not been raised, it would naturally erode the company’s profit,” a senior official told The Telegraph.

Also, NRL had to shut down its hydrogen unit for two days due to a technical snag. Currently, the unit is reported to be functioning at 50 per cent of its capacity. However, the loss in output is likely to be covered up once operations gain momentum.

NRL had posted a net profit of Rs 400 crore for the financial year ended March 31 due to a strong refining margin of more than $8 per barrel.

The refinery is equipped with a hydrocracker unit that converts 91 per cent of the crude processed into high value-added products, leaving only 9 per cent as low-end products. The recovery margin is higher than the older refineries.

NRL has a capacity to produce 3 million tonnes per annum. However, it processes a little over 2 million tonne as the rail network is not available to dispatch the products in time. This also leads to higher inventory cost.

The situation only underlines the need for laying the Numaligarh-Siliguri pipeline on a war-footing in order to ensure quick evacuation of products. The Rs 450-crore pipeline proposal prepared by Oil India Ltd has already been sent for the government’s approval. It would take around two years to complete, once all clearances are obtained.

The railways are also expected to benefit once Siliguri emerges as a major petroleum product depot. It will become easier for railways to ferry the products from the region, as the turnaround time for wagons will be much quicker.

The pipeline will enable NRL to operate at full capacity, as there is no shortage of crude in Assam. The eastern offshore Ravva crude is supplied to Bongaigaon Refineries and Petrochemicals Ltd.