PM Modi lays foundation for Cauvery Basin Refinery expansion at Rs 31,580 crore

The operation will provide jobs to 5,000 people in areas such as ancillary units, support services and other agencies, the official said.  
Foundation stone laying ceremony for the Cauvery Basin Refinery expansion project at Panangudi near Nagapattinam on Wednesday | Express
Foundation stone laying ceremony for the Cauvery Basin Refinery expansion project at Panangudi near Nagapattinam on Wednesday | Express

NAGAPATTINAM: Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for CPCL’s Cauvery Basin Refinery expansion project at Panangudi in Thirumarugal block in Nagapattinam district through videoconference on Wednesday. The refinery will be set up on 1,300 acres at a cost of Rs 31,580 crore. The construction work of the refinery will employ a maximum of 25,000 people, and the operation will employ 5,000 people. 

A senior official from CPCL told reporters, “The execution phase will provide jobs for highly dynamic and skilled people. It will take about 130 million person-hours to execute the project with the deployment of 12,000 personnel per day.”

The Cauvery Basin Refinery was set up in Panangudi in 1993. It is a group company of Indian Oil Corporation, an Indian state-owned oil and gas corporation headquartered in Chennai. It has a refinery of 1 million metric tonnes capacity in Nagapattinam. The company is expanding its unit at a capacity of 9 million metric tonnes. The new refinery is set to be operational by 2024. 

The operation will provide jobs to 5,000 people in areas such as ancillary units, support services and other agencies, the official said.  The direct workforce will be about 600, and indirect workforce, about 2,000 in refinery operations, administrations and other facilities. 

The refinery will ensure socio-economic development in the region through skill development, transport, communication, education, and small scale industrial development. 

The refinery will also include a crude processing unit and other secondary processing units to process petroleum products. It will have a polypropylene unit as part of petrochemical integration with a potential to increase petrochemicals units in future. 

According to CPCL sources, a Captive Power Generation Unit in the refinery will use Re-gasified Liquid Natural Gas (RLNG) as fuel. A desalination plant provide the required water for the plant. 

CPCL sources said effluents from the refinery will be treated to meet environmental standards. Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has granted clearance for the project. 

Target 2024
The Cauvery Basin Refinery was set up in Panangudi in 1993. It is a group company of Indian Oil Corporation. It has a refinery with 1 million metric tonnes capacity in Nagapattinam. The company is expanding its unit at a capacity of 9 million metric tonnes. New refinery is set to be operational by 2024. 

Related Stories

No stories found.
The New Indian Express
www.newindianexpress.com