Reliance refinery will be 'refining hub of the world': Ambani

Tuesday, 17 July 2007, 19:30 IST
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Mumbai: Reliance Petroleum Ltd's project to build the single largest refinery complex globally was well on track and on completion it would become the "refining hub of the world", its chairman Mukesh Ambani said Monday. RPL, promoted by India's most valuable company Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), is building the refinery complex along with a special economic zone (SEZ) at Jamnagar in Gujarat that will on completion become the "refining hub of the world", Ambani told shareholders while addressing the company's annual general meeting (AGM) at Jamnagar. "On commissioning, the RPL refinery will be sixth largest refinery in the whole world. Along with the RIL refinery, this will become the single largest refinery complex globally," he said, according to a company statement. "And this will make Jamnagar the 'Refining Hub of the World'. This complex will process two barrels out of every hundred barrels in the world." Ambani said the project will be breathtaking in its scope. "The civil concreting works at the site will consume cement equivalent to 35 CN Towers in Canada, the world's tallest building. The structural steel being used is enough to lay railway tracks from Kashmir to Kanyakumari," he said. "The project uses 5,200 km of pipes, equivalent to twice the length of the river Ganga while the total tankage area is equivalent to 34 football fields. The 11,000 km power and control cable being used is enough to go around the moon twice. "RPL has not only established several records, it is a reflection of the exciting Indian growth story," Ambani told the shareholders. He said that RPL had achieved overall progress of 65 percent in just nine months since the commencement of the project. Maintaining that refining margins would continue to remain strong as the outlook is positive, Ambani said over the next five years light refined products (excluding LPG) are expected to account for about 80 percent of incremental demand for petroleum products globally. "While the fuel demand is growing at a healthy rate, capacity is not being added at the same pace. The developed world faces huge shortage of refining capacity that is capable of meeting stringent fuel standards. "But most of the major projects announced around the world are bogged by delays in their completion schedules. And some of them are being cancelled. For India this is an opportunity," Ambani said.
Source: IANS