Numaligarh Refinery Restricted (NRL) has pipelines as much as Siliguri in northern West Bengal, from the place diesel is transported to Parbatipur in northern Bangladesh. | Picture credit score: The Hindu
“Political turmoil in Bangladesh and anti-India sentiments haven’t affected operations within the neighbouring nation,” an Assam-based public sector refiner and vitality retailer stated on Friday (August 30, 2024).
The Numaligarh Refinery Restricted (NRL), primarily based in Golaghat district in japanese Assam, is a product of the Assam Accord of August 1985, which ended a violent six-year agitation searching for to expel “unlawful immigrants” from the state.
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“The scenario in Bangladesh has not had any impression on the Indo-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline or our operations within the nation. Moderately, we’re increasing operations in northern Bangladesh from our Siliguri terminal and in northeastern Bangladesh from developed terminals close to Silchar (in southern Assam),” stated NRL Chairman R. Rath. He’s additionally Chairman and Managing Director of Oil India Restricted, the most important shareholder within the refinery.
In March 2023, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his former Bangladeshi counterpart inaugurated the pipeline, the primary cross-border energy provide line between the 2 international locations, to move a million metric tonnes each year (MMTPA) of high-speed diesel to Bangladesh.
From its refinery, NRL has pipelines to Siliguri in northern West Bengal, from the place diesel is transported to Parbatipur in northern Bangladesh. Earlier than work on this pipeline started in 2018, NRL had been advertising and marketing petroleum merchandise on this a part of Bangladesh (which isn’t simply accessible from the south of the nation resulting from a community of rivers) since 2015.
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“The financial system of northern Bangladesh depends on agricultural industries and demand for diesel is highest through the winter months when rivers are shallow,” NRL officers stated.
Nevertheless, the 6 million tonne per 12 months refinery’s plans to determine stores within the geographically nearer western a part of Myanmar have been slowed by the continued civil struggle within the nation. The mission was at a complicated stage of implementation when battle broke out within the nation in February 2021.
“Some discussions are happening with Myanmar,” Mr Rath stated after the thirty first annual basic assembly throughout which the refiner declared a complete dividend payout of ₹710.66 crore for 2023-24, representing 31.9% of NRL’s revenue after tax for the fiscal 12 months.
He additionally stated that NRL’s first-of-its-kind bioethanol plant primarily based on bamboo feedstock is anticipated to come back on stream inside a month. This plant and a polypropylene plant are among the many tasks involving an funding of over Rs 45,000 crore.
