Phulokhari (Bathinda), April 28, 2012
This village, located 40km from Bathinda town, witnessed history on Saturday. The Rs. 21,500-crore Guru Gobind Singh oil refinery, Punjab's biggest-ever project in terms of investment, is dedicated to the nation by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The project is a joint venture of the government-owned Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) and steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal's investment firm Mittal Energy Limited.
Besides the PM, the inauguration is attended by Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, union oil minister S Jaipal Reddy, HPCL chairman-cum-managing director S Roy Choudhury and Lakshmi Mittal.
Back in 1963, India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, had dedicated Punjab's maiden mega project, the Bhakra Dam, to the nation. The dam has been the state's lifeline all these decades.
The refinery project was announced in 1995; then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee laid its foundation stone in 1998. The HPCL acquired 2,400 acres in Bathinda district in September 1998 for the project, which remained on the drawing board for several years after 1999.
In 2007, the Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP government put the project back on track by signing a deed of assurance with the HPCL. The project was to be completed by November 2010, but the refinery finally became fully operational on February 24 this year. It stands seventh in the country in terms of capacity (9 million metric tonnes per annum).
It is India's 22nd refinery and the third in the northern region after the ones at Panipat (Haryana) and Mathura (Uttar Pradesh). In terms of annual turnover, Rs. 30,000 crore, it stands fifth in the country.
Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal said, "It is the biggest-ever investment in Punjab. It will transform the state's economy. It will have a multiplying effect in establishing ancillary units and subsidiary industries."
The refinery will produce 1.8 lakh barrels of fuel everyday. The total crude oil processed and refined will include 3.7 million metric tonnes (MMT) diesel (nearly 41%), 1 MMT petrol (11%) and 0.7 MMT LPG (8%).
Everyday, about 400 truckloads of various fuels would roll out of the refinery for different destinations in north India. Railway wagons - for which five dedicated tracks have been laid - and a 260km pipeline will be the other modes to carry the refined fuel.
Mittal Energy Limited, a Luxembourg-incorporated company, is wholly owned by Lakshmi N Mittal and his family. It holds a substantial share holding in its flagship company, ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steel producer.
This village, located 40km from Bathinda town, witnessed history on Saturday. The Rs. 21,500-crore Guru Gobind Singh oil refinery, Punjab's biggest-ever project in terms of investment, is dedicated to the nation by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The project is a joint venture of the government-owned Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) and steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal's investment firm Mittal Energy Limited.
Besides the PM, the inauguration is attended by Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, union oil minister S Jaipal Reddy, HPCL chairman-cum-managing director S Roy Choudhury and Lakshmi Mittal.
Back in 1963, India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, had dedicated Punjab's maiden mega project, the Bhakra Dam, to the nation. The dam has been the state's lifeline all these decades.
The refinery project was announced in 1995; then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee laid its foundation stone in 1998. The HPCL acquired 2,400 acres in Bathinda district in September 1998 for the project, which remained on the drawing board for several years after 1999.
In 2007, the Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP government put the project back on track by signing a deed of assurance with the HPCL. The project was to be completed by November 2010, but the refinery finally became fully operational on February 24 this year. It stands seventh in the country in terms of capacity (9 million metric tonnes per annum).
It is India's 22nd refinery and the third in the northern region after the ones at Panipat (Haryana) and Mathura (Uttar Pradesh). In terms of annual turnover, Rs. 30,000 crore, it stands fifth in the country.
Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal said, "It is the biggest-ever investment in Punjab. It will transform the state's economy. It will have a multiplying effect in establishing ancillary units and subsidiary industries."
The refinery will produce 1.8 lakh barrels of fuel everyday. The total crude oil processed and refined will include 3.7 million metric tonnes (MMT) diesel (nearly 41%), 1 MMT petrol (11%) and 0.7 MMT LPG (8%).
Everyday, about 400 truckloads of various fuels would roll out of the refinery for different destinations in north India. Railway wagons - for which five dedicated tracks have been laid - and a 260km pipeline will be the other modes to carry the refined fuel.
Mittal Energy Limited, a Luxembourg-incorporated company, is wholly owned by Lakshmi N Mittal and his family. It holds a substantial share holding in its flagship company, ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steel producer.
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