NATIONAL
PM Modi banks on BPCL Kochi to lead petro-chem revolution
The PM said the use of CNG as clean fuel is being promoted by expanding the coverage of City Gas Distribution (CGD) network in the country.
Expressing his desire that BPCL-Kochi Refinery leads the petro-chemical revolution in South India and supports the growing needs of a new India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said it was the Central government’s endeavour to see that petro-chemicals, most of which are being imported now, are manufactured in the country itself.
Dedicating the `16,504-crore Integrated Refinery Expansion Project (IREP) of BPCL here on Sunday, the PM also listed out many steps by the government, which have succeeded in giving the right results. Modi said the Ujjwala Yojana has brought cheers to many.
“While nearly six crore LPG connections have reached the households of the poorest of the poor since May 2016, more than 23 crore LPG consumers have joined the Pahal scheme. The transparency in the scheme has helped in identifying ghost accounts, multiple accounts and inactive accounts. Over 1 crore customers have given up LPG subsidies under ‘Give it up’ initiative,” he said.
From the same venue, Modi also laid the foundation stone for Petrochemical Complex, and inaugurated Mounded Storage Vessel at IOCL LPG bottling plant, Kochi, and laid the foundation stone for Skill Development Institute at Ettumanoor.
IREP will be a modern expansion complex and transform Kochi refinery into the largest PSU refinery in India with world-class standards.
It will be equipped for the production of cleaner fuels for India. It will double the production of LPG and diesel and commence production of feedstock for petrochemical projects in this plant, he said.
The PM said the use of CNG as a clean fuel is being promoted by expanding the coverage of City Gas Distribution (CGD) network in the country. After the successful completion of 10 CGD bidding rounds, more than 400 districts in the country will be connected for providing piped gas supply.
Besides, the government has reduced oil import by 10 per cent and saved precious foreign exchange, he said.
He expressed happiness that Kochi refinery will now be able to produce propylene after execution of IREP. Besides, the other niche petrochemicals will find use in different products such as paints, inks, coating, detergent and many other articles. He expressed hope that all these many ancillary industries will come to Kochi and business opportunities will be expanded.
Union Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas Dharmendra Debendra Pradhan said the petrochemicals project, which when commissioned in 2022, will help India to reduce imports by over `13,000 crore, besides boosting the local economy and generating jobs in Kerala.
Governor P Sathasivam, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Union Minister Alphons Kannanthanam, Agriculture Minister V S Sunil Kumar, K V Thomas MP, and V P Sajeendran MLA were also present on the occasion.