Paradip refinery, an experimental lab for Indian Oil.

Indian Oil Corporation’s Paradip refinery, its 11{+t}{+h}, is a test lab for two important experiments.

First, a proprietary technology developed by the company to maximise output of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is being deployed on a commercial scale for the first time.

Second, non-core refinery functions are being outsourced to contractors in a bid to keep the employee structure lean.

Success in the two experiments will not only help the bottomline of the company but also make it the first oil PSU to become a technology licensor. Indian Oil piloted its proprietary INDMAX (Indane maximisation)-based fluidised catalytic cracking unit (FCCU) plant at the Guwahati refinery a few years ago on a small scale to test the technology. Having validated it, the company has now built a 4.1-million-tonne unit at Paradip that will help boost output of LPG to 44 per cent of the input crude oil. Conventional FCCUs produce about 18-20 per cent LPG. The FCCU cracks crude oil in the presence of catalysts into products such as LPG, petrol and propylene. India is short of LPG, with approximately half of the consumption being imported.

HBL