ONGC To put In Rs 20,000 Cr In AP

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has decided to ask for concessions from the Andhra Pradesh government for commissioning a 15 million tonne a year (mtpa) refinery at Kakinada. The company mulls an investment of Rs 19,000-20,000 crore in the refinery. A special purpose vehicle (SPV) - Kakinada Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (KRPL) - for executing the refinery has been formed in which Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals (MRPL) holds 46 per cent stake, Andhra Pradesh Industrial Development Corporation 3 per cent, with the remaining held by IL&FS, and other financial institutions. ONGC has roped in Engineers India Ltd (EIL) to carry out a feasibility study for the refinery. The exploration company had earlier proposed to set up a 7.5 mtpa refinery at Kakinada, which was found economically unviable by EIL at that capacity. However, the Andhra Pradesh government had subsequently raised the issue with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who had asked ONGC to again take up the refinery project.