FE reported that the capacity of Bharat Petroleum Kochi Refinery would be expanded to 15. 5 million tonne per annum in five years at an investment of INR 20,000 crore

, union minister of petroleum and natural gas S Jaipal Reddy said while inaugurating the second phase expansion of the refinery.

The second phase Capacity Expansion & Modernisation Project - Phase II (CEMP-II) would help it refine an additional 2 million tonne. The INR 4,000 crore investment enhances the refinery’s capacity from 7.5 million tonne per annum to 9.5 million tonne per annum. This is probably one of the largest capital investments in Kerala and equips the refinery to produce Euro III and Euro IV compliant fuels.

With this upgrade, the total refining capacity for the BPCL group now stands at 30.5 million tonne per annum.

The first phase was completed in 2005 .The refinery is at present fully equipped to make Euro-III grade petrol (motor spirit or gasoline) and partly conform to the Euro IV standard for diesel. The newly commissioned facilities will help in improving the fuel quality and reduce environmental pollution.

A captive power Plant having a generation capacity of 36 Mega Watts is another feature of the project. In addition, auxiliaries, utilities and offsite facilities such as boilers, tankages and despatch facilities for catering to additional requirements have been set up.

(Sourced from FE)