Reliance commissions world's largest refining capacity at Jamnagar

26 December 2008

Reliance Petroleum Limited has announced the commissioning of its export refinery at a special economic zone at Jamnagar, in Gujarat.

The new refinery has been completed in 36 months from concept to commissioning.  RPL achieved the milestone by leveraging the project management skills of the Reliance group together with world-class implementation partners like Bechtel, UOP and Foster Wheeler among others.

The refinery has been completed on schedule with a minor cost over run of Rs195 crore; Reliance spent Rs25,755 crore  on the project as of 30 September 2008, compared with its earlier estimate of Rs.25,560 crore.

With a daily crude oil processing capacity of 580,000 barrels, the Reliance Petro refinery ranks as the 6th largest  in the world and is also amongst the world's most complex with a Nelson Complexity Index of 14.0.

The new plant is situated adjacent to Reliance's older plant that has a higher refining capacity of 660,000 barrels. The two plants together will be the world's largest refining complex. RPL refinery will be one of the most complex refineries.

The project was conceptualised in December 2005 and the construction started in April 2006. RPL commenced its crude processing yesterday, while the secondary processing units are now under synchronisation and commissioning that will enable the entire refinery complex reach full capacity.