Indian Oil Firm Plans to Boost Capacity to 34 Million Tons per Year

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Essar Oil (India) recently announced that it will invest $6 billion to expand the annual refining capacity at its Vadinar refinery from 10.5 million tons (220,000 barrels per day) to 34 million tons (700,000 barrels per day).

The refinery's current production capacity is 10.5 million tons per year. From the refinery's launch in November 2006, its production has stabilized at 7.5 million tons. The fluid catalytic cracking unit and diesel hydrogen desulfurization unit will soon begin to work at full capacity, raising the Refinery's production to its maximum capacity of 10.5 million tons.

Essar plans to expand the refinery's capacity gradually to finally bring it up to 34 million tons in 2010. The preliminary design of the expansion project has already been finished.

Upon the completion of the expansion, the equipment at the upgraded refinery will be able to process most grades of crude oil from light to heavy and take advantage of the price differences between light and heavy crude oils. Refined oil from the refinery will meet the world's highest environment standards of Euro IV and Euro V.

Essar is a multidisciplinary Indian family business that has entered the areas that were once monopoly of government and multinational corporations. In recent years, Essar has focused on expanding into the global market. It has decided that in the next four years it will invest $16 billion to upgrade infrastructures of its steel, energy, power and communication businesses. The estimated value of capital goods Essar will need will exceed $11 billion. This means a purchase value of at least $5 billion from China in the next three years.

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