The Paradip oil refinery

Paradip, July 23: The Rs 30,000-crore oil refinery project of Indian Oil Corporation Limited on the outskirts of the town is expected to be fully commissioned by December this year.

The project could not meet its original deadline of September 2013 due to multiple factors. Delay in establishment of a captive thermal power plant, land and labour-related issues, water supply and shortage of skilled manpower have all resulted in the delay in commissioning the project.

The refinery is coming up on 3,000 acres. The project is valued at Rs 29,777 crore, of which Rs 26,052 crore has already been spent for construction, said Sangram Mishra, deputy manager, corporate communications of the Indian Oil Corporation.

Another official of the oil refinery said that about 97 per cent work of the project had already been completed. Construction of an atmospheric vacuum distillation unit, which is the central component of the refinery, has already been completed. Trial runs are being done before full commissioning of the refinery. The captive thermal power plant is also nearing completion. The effluent treatment plant is complete and ready for use. The refinery is now waiting for the Central Electricity Supply Utility to meet with its electricity requirements to accelerate the construction.

Consignments of crude oil have also arrived at the project site through underground pipelines for trial test run of various units of the refinery.

The issue of drawing water from the Mahanadi river has also been resolved. The 92-km-long underground water pipelines have been stretched to the project site and have become operational.

“The project work is in full swing. More than 600 engineers and officers of the Indian Oil are toiling round the clock at the site. More than 35 refinery construction-related companies and consultants are on the job with their army of engineers, technicians and workers. To add to this, 18,000 labourers of various companies are also on the job,” he added.