OREANDA-NEWS. In a glittering ceremony at Jaipur on March 14, 2013, an MOU was signed between Government of Rajasthan (GOR) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited ( M/s HPCL ), a Fortune-500 company for setting up a state of the art 9 MMTPA refinery-cum-petrochemical complex in Barmer District of Rajasthan. The project will be setup in joint venture between M/s HPCL, M/s Rajasthan State Refinery Limited (M/s RSRL) and other equity partners. Proposed refinery will be setup at an estimated capital investment of Rs. 37230 Cr. The project is expected to take about 4 years for going on stream after getting approval from the Government of India. The proposed refinery will process the locally available Rajasthan crude as well as other crudes. The refinery-cum-petrochemical complex is designed to produce motor fuels with latest environmental specifications and wide range of petrochemicals which will have a substantial impact on the economy of the State of Rajasthan. The project related studies have been carried out by renowned consultants.

The ceremony was conducted in the distinguished presence of Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas Shri Veerappa Moily and Chief Minister of Rajasthan Shri Ashok Gehlot and was attended by Smt. Lakshmi Panabaka, Minister of State for Petroleum & Natural Gas. Senior officials from Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, GOR and M/s HPCL were also present on the occasion.

Shri Sudhansh Pant, Secretary Mines & Petroleum, Government of Rajasthan and Shri K. Murali, Director ( Refineries ) M/s HPCL were signatories to the MOU on behalf of GOR and M/s HPCL respectively.

Speaking on this occasion, Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas appreciated the untiring efforts of Chief Minister of Rajasthan and expressed his pleasure on Rajasthan realizing a long cherished dream of having a refinery in state. He stated that the huge investment associated with the project is expected to usher in economic growth of the state and will be a boon to Rajasthan. He remarked that the signing of the MOU is the beginning of a new phase of development and growth for Rajasthan. He also stated that the proposed refinery has the potential to become an anchor industry for developing downstream and other service sector industries in and around the region. Highlighting the unique aspects of the project, he stressed that the proposed complex will be the first such complex specifically designed to produce petrochemicals from the indigenous crude oil. He appreciated HPCL for taking the initiative in developing this project and for adopting innovative approach in achieving the best utilization of the indigenous crude, maximizing the value from the project thru the production of petrochemicals for improving project viability.

Congratulating the people of Rajasthan and stake holders of the project, he wished the project proponents M/s HPCL and its partners all the success for the completion of the project.

Chief Minister while thanking Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, stated the occasion to be a historic one for the state of Rajasthan which will mark the beginning of a transformation for the state in terms of industrial and economic growth and congratulated the citizens of Rajasthan on this momentous occasion. Highlighting the significant features of crude production in Rajasthan oil fields, he justified the need for a refinery in Rajasthan for economic opportunities.

He appreciated the efforts of HPCL in conceiving the project as a refinery cum petrochemical complex which facilitates best utilization of local crude an fosters better economic viability. He opined that the project will produce various petrochemical products to impart robustness to the bottom line of the complex.

He expressed that the people of Rajasthan will have access to the petroleum products produced within the state which will be available at competitive prices in a future competitive scenario. While extending his best wishes to the project proponents HPCL, the Chief Minister expected that HPCL will address all the environmental considerations adequately and also contribute to the community development around the project area under social responsibility component.