OIL & GAS - Crude Oil Pipelines

IndianOil Chairman inaugurates Paradip-Haldia crude oil pipeline

Kalinga Times Correspondent
Paradip, April 4: Sarthak Behuria, Chairman, IndianOil inaugurated the Paradip-Haldia crude oil pipeline system at Paradip on Friday.

The project included, laying 330 km long pipeline linking Paradip with Haldia and Barauni Refineries of IndianOil, installation of a Single Point Mooring (SPM) system in the offshore waters of Paradip and a crude oil tank farm consisting of 15 crude oil storage tanks.

This Rs 1420-crore project is designed to transport 11 million metric tonnes of crude oil per year from Paradip to refineries at Haldia and Barauni, and would effect substantial savings in the cost of transportation besides being environmentally benign. IndianOil is also setting up a state-of-the-art 15 million tonne refinery at Paradip.

Speaking on the occasion, Behuria said pipeline networks offer a major competitive advantage in our bid to streamline and optimize operations, so as to be least cost supplier in the market place. With the completion of this pipeline our roots in the eastern India will go even deeper by providing efficient and reliable supply chain management of crude oil, he said.

Complimenting all those who carried out this gigantic and challenging task of building first offshore pipeline of IndianOil in the eastern coast, Behuria said our engineers who have worked at this site are more confident than ever before to face newer challenges.

The offshore project like the one completed here is a rarity in India , the narrow fair weather window and frequently fluctuating mood of the sea makes the job extremely difficult, he added.

P.K. Chakraborti, Director (Pipelines) said that IndianOil ventured into the high seas of Bay of Bengal to establish its first Single Point Mooring system on the East Coast. A spectacular engineering feat, this onshore pipeline from Paradip to Haldia crosses about 17 major rivers and canals including the mighty Mahanadi and Baitarani, he said.

Now, the Paradip port will become the largest crude oil handling facility on the east coast of India . This pipeline will contribute to the growth of Paradip Port and be the harbinger of greater prosperity in the lives of people in the surrounding areas, said Chakraborti.

With the commissioning of this landmark pipeline, total network of IndianOil's crude oil and petroleum product pipelines touched the magic figure of over 10,000 km.

IndianOil's cross-country pipelines network is 10,064 km in length and 69.60 million metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA) in capacity.