Odisha govt accords clearance to NRL’s Rs 1,420-cr crude oil terminal coming up at Paradip

• The NRL crude oil terminal is being set up at a cost of Rs 1,420 crore and is expected to generate employment for around 200 people

• Crude oil will be imported through the Paradip terminal and transported to the Numaligarh refinery via a cross-country pipeline that will be built as part of the project

New Delhi: The Odisha state government has accorded clearance on Thursday to state-run Numaligarh Refinery Ltd's (NRL) crude oil terminal coming up at Paradip. The approval came as the state's High-Level Clearance Authority (HLCA) chaired by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik issued in-principle approval to three major industrial projects to the tune of Rs 5,358.24 crore in the metal and metal downstream, cement and refinery and petrochemicals sectors. Along with NRL's crude oil terminal, the other projects that received a nod include, the expansion of Yazdani Steel and Power Limited's Integrated steel plant from 0.07 MTPA to 1.19 MTPA in Kalinganagar, Jajpur and the setting up of additional clinker capacity of 1.32 MTPA and cement capacity of 1.05 MTPA by Shiva Cement Limited (SCL) at Telighana, Kutra, Sundergarh.

NRL crude oil terminal to cost Rs 1,420 cr, generate employment for 200 people

The NRL crude oil terminal is being set up at a cost of Rs 1,420 crore and is expected to generate employment for around 200 people. Earlier in September 2020, NRL signed a tripartite memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Paradip Port Trust (PPT) and Dredging Corporation of India (DCI) for the reclamation of 200 acres of land at Paradip port for the project. The terminal is part of NRL's integrated refinery expansion project, which received clearance from the Environment Ministry in July 2020. Crude oil will be imported through the Paradip terminal and transported to the Numaligarh refinery via a cross-country pipeline that will be built as part of the project. The pipeline will be 1,398 Km in length and will have a capacity of 9 MTPA.

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NRL is a subsidiary company of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), which is slated to be privatised. The government has decided to carve NRL out of BPCL and sell BPCL's stake in the refiner to Oil India Ltd (OIL) and Engineers India Limited (EIL). The transfer of shares is expected to take place before BPCL privatisation.

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