RIL’s Jamnagar refinery, KG basin gas production to start in January 2009

Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), India's second biggest oil refiner and the largest petrochemicals maker, is unlikely to meet its earlier deadline for commissioning commercial operations at its new refinery in Jamnagar, Gujarat. The export-oriented refinery may now be commissioned in early 2009 and RIL also envisages a delay in its key oil and gas projects on account of a slowing of global fuel demand amidst the global financial crisis.

The refinery project is stated to be undergoing final testing of the facility and the refinery will be ready for commissioning in January 2009, instead of it's earlier deadline of  December 2008, company executives working on the projects said.

RPL is building a 580,000 barrels per day refinery alongside an existing refinery complex at Jamnagar in the second half of 2009. The refinery plans to gradually increased production over a period of time, reaching its full capacity by the second half of 2009.

The delay could actually benefit RPL as refining margins are under pressure and the company can exploit tax benefits too.

Reliance plans to start gas production at its Krishna Godavari basin in Andhra Pradesh in the month of January 2008.

The company has been going through problems in other areas like closing down of five of its polyester units at Patalganga, offering VRS to its employees in the non-supervisory and shut down of its polypropylene plant at the Jamnagar refinery complex for a month. (See: RIL closes five polyester units at Patalganga and Reliance denies shut-down of polyester units at Patalganga