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MoU on Bathinda Refinery on October 13
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 10
British Petroleum (BP) would partner with Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) for the setting up of Rs 9,800 crore Guru Gobind Singh Oil Refinery at Bathinda.

The Union Minister of Petroleum, Mr Mani Shankar Aiyar, today called up the Punjab government and said a formal memorandum of understanding between the Ministry of Petroleum, BP and Punjab government would be signed on October 13. The Punjab Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, while briefing reporters here this morning said state Finance Minister, Mr Surinder Singla, had been informed in this regard by the Union Petroleum Minister.

The refinery project had been relaunched a few weeks ago and has a capacity to process 90 lakh tonnes of crude oil annually. The oil would be brought through a pipeline that would be laid from Mundra Port in Gujarat to Bathinda.

The British partners may even look at doubling the capacity and take it to 1.80 crore tonnes of crude oil annually, claimed Mr Singla. When the refinery was re-launched it was a part of the deal offered by Punjab to HPCL that the latter would be free to scout for a foreign partner.

Sources in the oil industry said Bathinda was a good destination for global oil companies as British energy group Cairn Energy had stumbled upon a huge discovery of oil in Bikaner, Rajasthan, located nearly 300 km away.

British Petroleum has assured that their company would set up the plant at a fast pace.