The government has constituted a four-member team headed by former Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) managing director M. Venkatesh to probe the fire at HPCL Rajasthan Refinery Ltd (HRRL).
Sujata Sharma, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, told the media on Tuesday that the team has reached Barmer.
“The ministry has already formed a team that has already reached Barmer. They are investigating the incident. Only after we receive their report will we be able to share what happened, how it happened and how long it will take to fix it,” she said in a media interview on developments in West Asia and the state of the country’s fuel reserves.
A fire broke out on Monday at the 9-million-tonne-a-year facility, a joint venture of state-owned Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd and the Rajasthan government, a day before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s scheduled inauguration.
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The Prime Minister was scheduled to visit India’s first greenfield integrated refinery-petrochemical complex at Pachpadra in Balotra, Rajasthan, with a capacity of 2.4 mtpa and an investment of over ₹79,450 crore, around 11:30 am on Tuesday.
In a statement, HPCL said prima facie the fire was caused by leakage of hydrocarbons through one of the valves or flanges in the heat exchanger circuit. He further stated that all units are structurally safe and unaffected. No other part of the refinery was affected.
Energy crisis
The newly developed refinery would significantly expand India’s refining capacity – the world’s fourth largest – at a time when the energy sector faces uncertainty and supply disruptions due to the US-Iran war.
All refineries in the country, except for Nayara Energy’s Vadinar refinery, have postponed scheduled maintenance to meet crude demand. The Nayara refinery is currently under maintenance as it could not postpone the plan due to security issues.
The government claims that all refineries except Nayara operates at high capacity with adequate oil reserves, while the country has adequate petrol and diesel reserves.
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Meanwhile, Mukesh Mangal, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, said that around 14 Indian-flagged vessels are currently stranded on the western side of the Strait of Hormuz.
“The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways continues to closely monitor the evolving situation in West Asia in coordination with the Ministry of External Affairs, Indian Missions and maritime stakeholders to ensure the welfare of seafarers and continuity of maritime operations. All Indian seafarers in the region are safe and no incident has been reported involving Indian-flagged vessels in the last 24 hours,” Mangal said.
The The Strait of Hormuz is vital to India’s energy security as it has traditionally been the key channel for about 60% of the country’s crude oil imports, 50% of its liquefied natural gas and 90% of its LPG supplies.
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