Dastur, Lummus to study feasibility of petcoke gasification at Kochi Refinery

Dastur, Lummus to study feasibility of petcoke gasification at Kochi Refinery

The 15.5 million tonnes Kochi Refinery is a facility of the selloff-bound Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL). The refinery currently produces over 1.2 million tonnes petcoke per annum from its delayed coker unit

Mumbai: BPCL has awarded a contract for conducting a feasibility study on petcoke gasification at the Kochi Refinery to Dastur International Inc and Lummus Technology, the American companies said in a joint statement. The study, to be funded by the United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA), will be carried out by Dastur International Inc and two of its affiliates — Dastur Energy and MN Dastur & Co — along with the Texas-based Lummus Technology. Dastur will be the prime contractor for the project.

The Dastur group has its parentage in India and has been around since 1955 as a technology firm.

The study is part of the USTDA’s mission to promote and develop sustainable infrastructure projects along with fostering economic growth in partner countries, the statement said.

The study will evaluate the feasibility of the proposed petcoke gasification project and production of value-added petrochemicals and clean fuel products.

The 15.5 million tonnes Kochi Refinery is a facility of the selloff-bound Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL). The refinery currently produces over 1.2 million tonnes petcoke per annum from its delayed coker unit.

If approved, the new project will manufacture many value-added petrochemicals like acetic acid, ethanol, methanol, many types of alcohols and also hydrogen and more efficient fuels in a highly cost-competitive and sustainable manner.

BPCL already runs a mega petrochemicals project in Kochi with an investment of around Rs 35,000 crore.

Given the likely regulatory restrictions surrounding petcoke in the near future, BPCL is looking at gasification as a way to convert petcoke into an environmental-friendly feedstock to produce value-added clean energy products.

“The USTDA has a long history of fostering connections between Indian partners and innovative American companies in the oil and gas space,” its Acting Director Thomas R Hardy was quoted as saying in the joint statement.

Murali Madhavan, executive director at Kochi Refinery, said they are excited to partner with Dastur and Lummus given their proven experience and expertise in the area of gasification, clean energy and related low-carbon technologies.

“With the increasing use of heavier and sour crudes, sustainable utilization of petcoke from refineries is a concern. This project promises to reduce emissions by turning petcoke into a feedstock for producing value-added clean fuels based on gasification,” Madhavan said.

Atanu Mukherjee, president and chief executive at Dastur, said the Kochi project can be a forerunner of the country’s vision on energy security and self-sufficiency by producing affordable clean fuels and products through gasification.

It has the potential to lay the foundation for large-scale gasification-based clean energy complexes in the country, and also in other parts of the world, he added.

Leon de Bruyn, president of Lummus, said the Kochi gasification project has far reaching impact on the use and conversion of fossil fuels like coal and petcoke to provide clean and affordable energy.        

https://energy.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/oil-and-gas/dastur-lummus-to-study-feasibility-of-petcoke-gasification-at-kochi-refinery/76865102

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