Nagarjuna to commission Cuddalore refinery by 2015-end

New Delhi: Nagarjuna Oil Corporation Ltd (NOCL) plans to commission the first phase of its Rs 25,000 crore Cuddalore refinery in Tamil Nadu by end of 2015, its Managing Director & CEO S Ramasundaram said today. NOCL is setting up a 6 million tonnes a year oil refinery at Cuddalore in phase-I with a similar capacity unit planned in the second phase. "The first 6 million tonnes per annum unit is about 60 per cent complete and will be commissioned in 18 months from the date we get a strategic investor which is likely by mid-June," Ramasundaram said.

He did not disclose details of the strategic investor Nagarjuna is roping in. The first 6 million tonnes unit will cost Rs 16,000 crore and while the expansion another Rs 9,000 crore, taking the overall cost to about Rs 2,000 crore per million tonne, he said. So far, the promoters have contributed Rs 1,840 crore of equity and another Rs 4,615 crore has been borrowed from a consortium of 16 public sector banks and LIC. NOCL needs Rs 5,000-6,000 crore of debt and equity of Rs 2,000-3,000 crore to complete the phase-1, he said.

The project was originally planned to be commissioned in 2012 but was delayed due to cyclone that hit east coast two years back. Singapore-based Trafigura Pte Ltd holds 24 per cent stake in the project while Hyderabad-based Nagarjuna Group has 46 per cent. Tata Sons has 12.5 per cent and an equal stake is held by Tata Petrodyne. The refinery can process heavy/sour grades of crude and will supply light and middle distillates of up to Euro-IV standards.

The project site, 180-km south of Chennai, is spread over an area of 2,100 acres, including 300 acres of greenbelt. It has the ability to receive Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) via a single point mooring. He said the refinery will process Arab Mix crude and will have Nelson Complexity Factor (NCF) of around 8.74. "Half of the refinery produce will be diesel while 15 per cent of the produce will be gasoline (petrol). The remaining would be other products like ATF and LPG," he said. The refinery is designed to cater to the domestic needs of the state. "Tamil Nadu is deficit and we hope it alone can absorb 2-3 million tonnes of petrol and diesel," he said.