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Foundation stone laying ceremony of Rajasthan Refinery Project

Following is the text of the speech delivered at the Foundation Stone laying Ceremony of Rajasthan Refinery Project.

Respected UFA Chairperson, Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Ministers of the Govt of Rajasthan, (Leader of the Opposition), Members of Parliament and the state Assembly, senior officials of HPCL, friends from the media and my beloved people of Rajasthan.

We all know that the state of Rajasthan long cherished the dream of a refinery project to process the crude being produced within the state. During March this year when the Memorandum of Understanding was signed between M/s HPCL and the Government of Rajasthan, I had promised to the people of Rajasthan that we will leave no stone unturned in bringing the Refinery project on fast track and that the work on the refinery would begin soon.

Today, we are witnessing the fruits of the efforts put in by the Government of Rajasthan, HPCL and senior officials of the Petroleum Ministry. I am extremely happy that Madam Sonia Gandhi has kindly consented to be present here today to lay the foundation stone for the much awaited refinery project in your state. Madam, let me say that it is an honour to be present with you on this day and sincerely thank you for agreeing to come here despite your extremely busy schedule.

Rajasthan has a glorious history with great cultural heritage. The people here are very warm and are great hosts. On this very special occasion, I am even more pleased and honored to be here with you to share your joy. I believe that this project will change the face of Rajasthan permanently and bring the state to the forefront of economic development in the country.

I have been emphasising the importance of achieving enhanced energy security of country especially in making the country self-sufficient in the production of oil. Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas has been working towards achieving this goal by the year 2030. When India gained independence in 1947, the country had only one oil producing field in Assam. It was opined by international experts that Indian Basin is Hydrocarbon barren. However, the discovery of Mumbai High Field in 1970s, proved these skeptics wrong.

Mumbai High Field is still producing crude oil and is the largest contributor to the indigenous crude oil production. With the discovery of KG Basin, which is one of the largest Gas finds in India in the eastern region and discovery of crude oil in your own backyard from the Banner Field, India has demonstrated that it is rich in hydrocarbon reserves.

Currently India is meeting more than 75 percent of its crude oil requirement through imports. The crude oil production from Banner Field is a significant step towards achieving energy security for our country. At its peak, the crude oil production from this block will be about 20-25 percent of the current crude oil production of the country.

In the backdrop of the above, the wish of the people of Rajasthan to have their own refinery and therefore enjoy the direct and indirect benefits of a major industry, is truly well justified.

As I had mentioned earlier, this project will also have an integrated petrochemical complex which means double the investment of typical refinery. The complex will produce feedstocks for various downstream industries such as plastics, fibres, various types of rubber etc., and offers numerous opportunities. I am sure mushrooming of industries around the region will happen sooner.

I feel greatly privileged to be able to participate in the foundation stone laying ceremony which in my view will be a game-changer for the state especially considering the fact that this is the first time a grassroot refinery cum petrochemical complex is being built with huge investment.

HPCL is one the country's major oil refining and marketing companies. They have successfully completed the 9 MMTPA refinery in Bhatinda in record time recently. I am happy that HPCL took the lead in developing the project and in ensuring that the project takes off.

The refinery complex is being designed with a crude throughput of 9 MMTPA and will have state-of-the-art refining and petrochemical units which will ensure that the maximum value is extracted from the local oil. The refinery is being designed to process 50 per cent Rajasthan crude with the balance being imported crude oil. The estimated project cost is INR 37230 crores. The refinery will be capable to increase the intake of the Rajasthan crude depending on the availability and with some additional investment. The project will be completed in about 4 years and will be onstream during 2018.

Needless to say, a project of such magnitude will definitely offer employment opportunities to the people. I have already discussed with HPCL and directed them that they must take the initiative for development of skills of local people in coordination with the state government. The people thus trained can contribute to the development of the refinery project during the construction stage and later on when the refinery starts production. The state government is also working on improved availability of technical education and for developing the required skill sets for the qualified personnel. When you acquire the additional skills through better training, employment opportunities across the country can also be utilised. The refinery complex will have state-of-the-art safety features and will be an environment friendly facility.

Your Chief Minister has been aggressively pursuing the refinery project as he is keenly aware of the huge growth & development potential of a large project like refinery. You will be happy to note that the state government will be an equity partner in the project with a stake of 26 percent. I take this opportunity to congratulate the Chief Minister and his entire team for bringing the project into reality. 

I also wish to thank the management of HPCL for taking the lead in developing the project and in putting untiring efforts to make this happen. I am sure the project will bring in all the anticipated benefits and prosperity to the people of Rajasthan.

HPCL is already having wind power project in your state and is producing about 50 MW. Also, during my discussion, HPCL indicated that they are planning to add another 50 MW capacity in the windmill sector. In your state, there is huge potential for generating power from solar energy. HPCL indicated that they will explore this area also. These efforts of HPCL are aimed at tapping into the renewable energy sector. 

I have also indicated to HPCL that they could take up measures to improve the drinking water availability in the nearby villages through Corporate Social Responsibility program. They may consider desalination in their long term development and investment plans. The desalination plant reject will be rich in salts and can be used for salt production by the local people.

Source: SNP Infra Research