Sunday, December 26, 2010

Speech of Shri Murli Deora

Dedication to the Nation of once-through Hydrocracker unit and Capacity Expansion of Haldia Refinery
Union Finance Minister Shri Pranab Mukherjee dedicated, today, Haldia Refinery’s new Hydrocracker Unit & higher refinery capacity to the Nation in the presence of Shri Murli Deora, Union Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas at Haldia Refinery, Haldia, West Bengal. Shri S. Sundareshan, Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Shri B.M. Bansal, Chairman, Indian Oil were also present on the occasion among other dignitaries.

Following is the text of speech of the Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Shri Murli Deora delivered at dedication to the nation of once-through Hydrocracker Unit and capacity expansion by 1.5 MMTPA of Haldia Refinery:

“First of all let me wish you all a Merry Christmas.

I extend a warm welcome to Pranabda for accepting our invitation to be present on this important occasion of dedication of Hydrocarbon Unit and Capacity expansion of Haldia Refinery.

Our Ministry’s priority is to provide fuel to each household in every nooks and corner of the country. I am proud to say that oil marketing companies have created huge infrastructure across the country for supply of fuel from Kashmir to kanyakumari and Andaman and Nicobar Islands to remotest part of north eastern region. OMCs supply domestic LPG cylinder to more than 12 crore customers at their door step. Such a huge distribution is unique in the world.

India is one of the fastest growing economy in the world and is also one of the largest consumers of oil and gas. With our economy projected to grow at a rapid pace over the next two decades, demand for oil and gas is expected to increase significantly.

In 1947, India had just one small refinery of half million metric tonnes capacity at Digboi. Over the decades we have built up several refineries, and today India has become a hub of refining facilities. During 2009-10, domestic refining capacity has been augmented to 185 million tonnes per annum. New refineries are under construction at Bina in Madhya Pradesh, Bhatinda in Punjab and Paradeep in Orissa. After commissioning of these refineries, our refining capacity is expected to reach 238 MMTPA by the end of 2011-12.

In order to provide clean cooking fuel to rural areas and to achieve our vision of 75% of population with domestic LPG supplies in the country, we have launched Rajiv Gandhi Gramin LPG Vitran Yojana in March 2010 for setting up small size LPG Distribution agencies in rural areas. Needs of rural people of West Bengal is uppermost in minds of Government of India. I am told that only 38% of population of West Bengal are covered by LPG. Our target is to increase to 60% by 2015. For this we are planning to have 880 Rajiv Gandhi Gramin LPG Vitran Yojana in Rural areas. This will greatly improve the cooking conditions in the kitchens of rural house-holds of West Bengal. The scheme will also provide new employment opportunities for the rural population leading to overall economic prosperity in West Bengal.

Our Government is committed to the twin objectives of protecting the interest of the common man, particularly the vulnerable sections of the society as also to protect the financial health of the public sector oil marketing companies.

The State of West Bengal should be proud to have Shri Pranab Mukherjee as the Finanace Minister of India. He is not only an economist but is also a visionary. His ministry has been always supportive to Petroleum Ministry.

I am particularly happy to inform you that Indian Oil Corporation so far has made a total investment of several thousand crores in Haldia Refinery. This has contributed significantly in generation of employment to local population, development of ancillary units and generation of revenue for the State.

On this occasion of the Dedication Ceremony of the “Once-through Hydrocracker Unit” and “Capacity Expansion” at Haldia Refinery to the Nation, I convey my heartiest congratulations and good wishes to the officers and staff of Indian Oil family for their commendable effort. The project has set a new benchmark in execution and commissioning in the refining sector.

To conclude, I once again would like to express my sincere thanks to Pranabda for gracing the occasion. Also, I congratulate again the Indian Oil for achieving yet another milestone to attain energy security for the country.

Wishing you all a Shubho Nababorsha and have a prosperous New Year. ”

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