Enabling works, including laying of roads, construction of peripheral walls and drains, and provision of lighting, are under way for the construction of the Cauvery Basin Refinery and Petrochemicals (CBRPL) project, the State’s second petroleum refinery at Nagapattinam. The foundation stone for the ₹33,023 crore 9 million tonnes per annum (MMTPA) refinery and petrochemical park was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2021.
CPCL Managing Director Arvind Kumar told The Hindu that the refinery that will help in the economic development of the area will now be constructed as a joint venture of Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. (IOCL) and Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (CPCL). IOCL will hold 75% of the share capital and CPCL will hold the rest. The cost of the refinery has been revised from Rs. 29,361 crore to Rs. 33,023 crore, which is an increase of around 15%(₹3,662 crore).
“Recently, the IOCL Board approved the increase in estimate and last month the CPCL Board approved the same. We have now set rolling the process of obtaining clearance from the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs. It is likely to take three months and from the date of their approval, the works will take 39 months to complete,” he said.
Asked about land acquisition, Mr. Arvind Kumar said that the company already owned 600 acres of land, but it needed a similar stretch, which was acquired by the State government. There was some delay due to a section of people wanting additional compensation, which was decided and awarded by an official committee. “The lands were handed over to us in October 2023,” he explained. “By that time, 10% of the engineering work had been done and those are proceeding as planned. The larger contracts will come into force once the clearance is obtained,” he added.
The State-of-the-art refinery will produce petrol and diesel conforming to BS-VI specifications, polypropylene as a value-added product, LPG and aviation turbine fuel. It will get a desalination plant for requirement of the refinery and local residents.
