Pakistan beckons as market to HPCL

MUMBAI, March 06 PPI: Pakistan's move to ease trade with India could translate into a big opportunity for Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited HPCL's Bhatinda refinery which is scheduled to be commissioned soon.

The nine million-tonne project, planned with an outlay of Rs.19,000- crore, was conceived to meet growing need for petroleum products in the North. Pakistan will be an added bonus as a market and all HPCL needs to do is invest in a 100-kilometre pipeline linking Bhatinda to Lahore, Hindu Business Line reported.

Nothing has been decided yet though the oil major has already made it known in recent past that is open to idea of supplying products to Pakistan from new refinery. It will be a pragmatic business model where revenue will more than offset relatively low investment in the pipeline.
With Pakistan keen on facilitating trade with India, HPCL is best positioned to use Bhatinda as a critical gateway. A joint venture with Mittal Energy, the refinery's capacity can be doubled to 18 mt at a later date. Crude pipeline from Mundra to Bhatinda is already designed for 18-20 mt.

Given that there is enough space for expansion of refinery's units, any increase in capacity will not be an expensive affair.