Indian bankrupt private-sector refiner Nagarjuna Oil is being revived as a petrochemical venture, after the government approved a scheme by state-controlled Haldia Petrochemicals (HPL) to take over the company.
The National Company Law Tribunal approved yesterday Haldia's proposal to take over Nagarjuna, which was liquidated after trying to set up the 120,000 b/d Cuddalore refinery on India's southeast coast in Tamil Nadu state. Nagarjuna original plan to relocate ExxonMobil's 120,000 b/d Worth refinery in Germany to Cuddalore languished for years waiting for a final investment decision.
The project was then delayed multiple times, including damage by a cyclone in 2011. Nagarjuna accumulated debts of 88bn rupees ($1.2bn) from state-owned banks to build the refinery. Nagarjuna said in 2014 that the refinery's crude unit was 60pc complete and that it aimed to commission the first phase by the end of 2015.
Haldia agreed with the Tamil Nadu government in 2019 to invest around Rs500bn to convert the abandoned refinery project into an unspecified chemicals complex, aided by Nagarjuna's land holdings in Cuddalore.
India has more than 5mn b/d of refining capacity but domestic refiners are now focusing on petrochemicals than only transport fuels.
