February 21, 2012 [The Economic Times] - Public Sector Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) has taken up construction of underground storage facilities for keeping crude oil stocks which could be used to meet petroleum requirement during oil crisis, Union Minister S Jaipal Reddy said.
Addressing a gathering after dedicating the clean fuels project at the Visakha refinery of the HPCL here, the Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas said HPCL had planned to construct an underground storage facility at Visakhapatnam and Mangalore.
“It will facilitate to keep 13 lakh tonnes of crude oil which would be sufficient for providing uninterrupted supply of petrol for 90 days during the time of international oil crisis,” Reddy said.
He said Visakhapatnam’s underground storage facility would be completed within three months.
The Indian government has been taking all steps to upgrade fuel quality to meet Euro-3 and Euro-4 specifications with international standards, he added.
According to him, oil companies are at present providing EURO-4 fuel in 13 cities in the country and the same will be supplied to Visakhapatnam city very soon as the city is facing pollution problem.
“Oil companies in the country have to invest Rs 40,000 crore to upgrade fuel specifications from EURO-3 to EURO-4,” the minister explained.
He said oil companies in the country are incurring a loss of Rs 1.50 lakh crore at present.
However, the government is not contemplating to increase the prices of petroleum products despite a hike in crude oil prices in the international market.
Roy Choudhary, Chairman and Managing Director the HPCL, said the company had taken up the clean fuel project at a cost of Rs 2,200 crore.
