The Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), a central government sector undertaking, has made a critical move expressing its intention to build a greenfield refinery and petrochemical complex in Andhra Pradesh. Since the formation of the coalition government in the state, the efforts are going on to convince the BPCL to opt for the state for its proposed refinery.
In this context, a key decision was taken in the BPCL board meeting held on Tuesday. Soon after the board meeting, the BPCL management wrote a letter to the National Stock Exchange of India Limited (Nifty) informing about its preliminary approval to set up the refinery in Andhra Pradesh.
In the BPCL board meeting held on Tuesday, the board members approved the preliminary work related to the construction of a greenfield refinery and petrochemical complex in the eastern coastal area of Andhra Pradesh, the BPCL secretary said.
As part of the pre-project activities, a study will be conducted for the establishment of a greenfield refinery and petrochemical complex. Along with land acquisition for the refinery, the feasibility of setting up in that area will be examined. Environmental aspects and engineering designs will also come under the pre-project activities.
On the other hand, it is reported that along with AP, the states of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh have also been examined for the establishment of a refinery. However, after the meeting of BPCL CMD Krishna Kumar with AP Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu, it is reported that it has been decided to undertake this project in AP.
However, it is estimated that approximately 4,000 to 5,000 acres of land will be required for the construction of the refinery and petrochemical corridor. In this context, the names of Machilipatnam and Ramayapatnam in Nellore district have come to the fore for the establishment of the BPCL refinery.
The name of the Moolapet area in Srikakulam district has also been mentioned. However, the location has not been officially announced. Recently, the BPCL board has given permission to undertake pre-project activities for the establishment of the BPCL refinery on the east coast.