Prime Minister Narendra Modi will dedicate to the nation the country’s largest Greenfield integrated oil refinery- cum-petrochemical complex at Pachpadra in the Balotra district of Rajasthan on Tuesday.
The PM is scheduled to land in Pachpadra at around 11:30 am tomorrow to inaugurate the Rs 79,459-crore mega project that would provide jobs to about 90,000 people. It is viewed as a significant milestone in India’s quest for self-reliance in the energy sector.
After the inaugural ceremony, Modi is scheduled to take stock of the refinery and address a huge public meeting.
Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma will reach Balotra later this afternoon to review all arrangements. He will have a night halt at the Refinery guest house in Pachpadra to welcome PM Modi on Tuesday.
The refinery — the largest in the country and powered by ultra-modern technology—is spread over 4,400 acres and will have an annual refining capacity of 9 million metric tonnes (MMT) of crude oil. At present, the unit is expected to process 1.5 to 2.5 MMT of crude oil from domestic production in the adjoining Barmer district, while the remaining 6.5 to 7.5 MMT will be sourced from the Gulf region.
A special electrically heated pipeline has been laid from Kandla port to Pachpadra for transporting crude oil from Arab countries to the refinery.
Besides petrol and diesel, the plant will produce a range of petroleum products on a commercial scale, including polypropylene, benzene, linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE), high-density polyethylene (HDPE), butadiene, LPG, and toluene.
Commercial production of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) had begun earlier and has been progressing steadily at the plant.
It is a Greenfield project that utilises advanced, state-of-the-art technologies designed to produce BS-VI grade fuels and petrochemicals, with a strong focus on energy efficiency and zero liquid discharge.
In the vicinity of the refinery complex, the Rajasthan Petro Zone (RPZ) is also being developed in a vast 1022 hectare area along the Borawas-Kalava villages. As many as 86 industrial plots are to be offered for petro chemical based industries. Of them land allotments have already been made for 45 units to investors.
As many as 18 tripartite MoUs for smooth supply of the downstream petroleum produces ancillary industries, among the Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited, the concerned industrial unit and the state Industries Department were signed here on Sunday in the presence of Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma.