In a bid to benefit from rising fuel demand in Asia, Hindustan Petroleum Corp. has revived plans to build a Rs 200 bln (US$4.3 bln) refinery and petrochemicals plant in Andhra Pradesh, as per Bloomberg. The project will meet domestic as well as demand from Asian nations in the long term. Energy consumption in India, Asia’s third-largest fuel user, is expected to more than double to 833 mln metric tons of oil equivalent by 2030, according to the International Energy Agency. Asian refineries are expanding capacity to meet rising oil demand in the region at a time when companies in the developed world are halting operations as profits from processing fuel decline.
HPCL had deferred plans to build a 15 mln ton refinery and a 2.5 mln ton petrochemicals plant near its existing 7.5 mln facility at Visakhapatnam after partners Total SA and Lakshmi Mittal opted out as the recession squeezed global fuel demand. In 2007, HPCL had entered into an agreement with Gail (India) Ltd, Oil India Ltd, Total France SA and Mittal Energy Investment Pte to explore the possibility of setting this complex.
HPCL mulls borrowing 70% of the funds to build the Vizag project. GAIL India Ltd. and Oil India Ltd. will continue as partners.
26-Feb-10 
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