Excerpt from DNA, reported by Sreejiraj Eluvangal on February 18, 2010: Read Full Article
Hindustan Petroleum Corp (HPCL) has obtained the go-ahead from the ministry of petroleum and natural gas (MoPNG) to conduct a feasibility study to shift its Chembur, Mumbai refining operations to a new facility being planned further south on the Konkan coast.
The move is expected to save the company up to Rs 1,000 crore per year, nearly double its profits during the first nine months of the current year.
A company official confirmed the development. HPCL is in the process of starting its feasibility study and it may take up to a year before further plans are firmed up, said the official, who was not officially authorised to speak to the media on the issue.
The company officials had, in January, said the firm is looking at setting up a Rs 20,000 crore refinery on the Konkan coast, but had not clarified whether the Mumbai plant would be shut down or not.
The primary reasons for considering a lock, stock and barrel transmigration out of the city are the 3% octroi imposed by the Bombay Municipal Corp (BMC) and the non availability of land for expansion around its plant in Chembur, Mumbai.
