IOC to invest Rs23,000 crores in expansion over th enext 5 years

18-Jul-05

Petrochemical major Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) is planning to invest about Rs 23,000 crores over the next five years in its refineries at Paradip, Gujarat Refinery and Haldia collectively. The first phase of the plan is to include the setting up of a full-fledged, Rs15,000 crore petrochemical complex at Paradip in Orissa likely to be complete by 2009, a Rs3,900 crore hydro-cracker units at the Koyali refinery near Vadodara to process cheaper high sulphur crude and Rs3500 crore for setting up a refining capacity of 7.5 mmtpa at Haldia. Paradip with a capacity of about 15mmtpa is to be based on the east coast and serve as an outlet for the southeast Asian markets, especially China. Its capacity may be enhanced up to 30 mmtpa at a later stage if demands from producers rise, while the plan for Haldia in Bengal is aimed at setting up a refining capacity of 7.5 mmtpa. Funds for these projects are likely to be generated from internal accruals and the financial markets. Also, the company's low debt equity ratio may help it to meet its plans for investments.