December 2, 2014 [allAfrica] - MoU was signed by the State Trading Corporation, the Indian Oil Corporation Ltd and the Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd on November 27 in Port Louis regarding participation in the setting up of oil storage terminals in Mauritius.
The MoU was signed in the presence of the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Consumer Protection, Mr Cader Sayed-Hossen and the High Commissioner of India in Mauritius, Mr. Anup Kumar Mudgal.
It provides, amongst others, for the setting up of a Joint Venture Company, the conduct of a detailed feasibility study, and cooperation in the marketing of petroleum products. The oil storage terminals will boost the opportunities of trade in petroleum products in the region and help improve the strategic supply of oil in Mauritius.
The project which is in line with the vision of making Mauritius a Petroleum Hub in the region will cater for the re-export of petroleum products to the different islands across the Indian Ocean as well as to the African continent. The cost of the project is estimated at over 130 million US dollars and will generate both direct and indirect jobs in Mauritius.
Currently, the State Trading Corporation imports about 1.2 million tonnes of petroleum products, but has no storage tanks. Its total imports transits by only 186,000 tonnes of its reservoir capacity which belongs mostly to the petroleum industry and the Central Electricity Board.
As part of the MoU, the setting up of floating storage is also being considered by potential operators as a temporary arrangement till ground oil reservoirs are available so as to support the development of Port Louis into a Petroleum Hub.
Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd, a subsidiary of the largest oil exploration company in India, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd, operates a refinery of 15 million tonnes per year in the South of India. Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd has successfully provided all the fuel requirements of Mauritius through the State Trading Corporation since 2006.
Indian Oil Corporation Ltd is a multinational and the largest Indian company in the refining and marketing of petroleum products, with a turnover of more than $ 81 billion. Indian Oil Corporation Ltd owns and operates more than 130 terminals across India and abroad.
