February 6, 2012 [The Economic Times] - State-run Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) plans to invest 7,700 crore by 2015 to expand its pipeline network, which has emerged as a highly profitable business, generating revenue of 4,200 crore in the previous fiscal year with a net profit of 3,000 crore, senior officials said.
IOC plans to lay more than 20 new pipelines to expand its network from 10,900 km to 15,000 km by 2015, director-pipelines KK Jha told ET.
“Pipelines with their pan-India presence, play a vital role in improving margins and making our refineries and marketing competitive,” he said. Jha, who has been selected as member (technical) in the Petroleum &, will join the board this month after superannuating from Indian Oil.
IOC uses its pipelines to transport crude oil from the coast to its refineries and distribute refined products across the country. Transportation through pipeline costs one-third of railways and one-fifth of roadways, Jha said.
The company is undertaking several projects such as integrated offshore crude oil handling facilities at Paradip, de-bottlenecking of Salaya-Mathura-Pipeline, Paradip-Raipur-Ranchi product pipeline, Paradip-Haldia-Budge-Budge-Durgapur LPG pipeline, Viramgam-Kandla pipeline, construction of additional crude oil storage tanks at Vadinar, Patna-Raxual-Baitalpur pipeline and dedicated ATF pipelines connecting Kolkata, Guwahati and Delhi (T-3) airports.
IOC also transports liquefied natural gas and natural gas through pipelines. “The combined capacity of our liquid pipelines is over 75 million tonnes per annum and gas pipeline is 10 million standard cubic metres,” he said.
“IOC’s pipeline division has in-house expertise in project from concept to commissioning including detailed design and engineering, procurement and project monitoring,” Jha said.
