Exim Bank Backs US Companies in India’s Mega Refinery Project

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas). When the $6 billion, leading-edge technology refinery is completed by Reliance Petroleum Limited (RPL) at Jamnagar in Gujurat state in India in December 2008, it will become part of the largest refining complex in the world when combined with the existing refinery and petrochemical complex. The new refinery alone will be the sixth largest oil refinery in the world. For related news, view August 18, 2006 article– India’s Reliance Fast Tracks $6.1 Billion Refinery to Edge High Margin Competition.

The US Exim Bank has agreed to a $500 million loan guarantee for the project on which Citibank is the guaranteed lender. Among US companies associated with the project are Bechtel which is providing design, procurement, project management and other services, Black & Veatch the sulfur and gas treatment units, Dow Global Technologies the licensing and services for the polypropylene plant process, Foster Wheeler for fired heaters for the refinery’s coker and UOP LLC for the catalytic converter reactor section and PSA (pressure swing absorption) packages.

James H. Lambright, chairman and president Exim Bank said, “ Exim Bank's long and successful relationship with RIL Group dating back to the early 1980s has contributed to growth in the dynamic Indian market while helping to create US jobs. We hope to support IL projects in other industrial sectors.”

The new refinery will have the capacity to produce high quality fuels such as gasoline, jet fuel, diesel, alkylates, naphtha, kerosene and polypropylene. On the Nelson Complexity Index it is classed 14 compared to the average index of 10 in the US. The index is a measure of the secondary conversion capacity of a petroleum refinery relative to the primary distillation capacity. The higher the value of the index, the higher the cost of the refinery, and the higher the value of its products which will include more lighter, higher value products. For related news, view January 5, 2007 article – Reliance Investing $2.1 Billion in India’s First IGCC-Based Complex.

Exim Bank’s exposure to India, including the current project, is about $3.1 billion with $1.7 billion in additional pending final commitments. An independent US government agency, the bank authorized over $12.1 billion in transactions supporting an estimated $16.1 billion in US exports in 2006.

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