Coal news and updates

MRPL further extends commissioning of pet coke unit to Feb 2014

January 14: Mangalore Refineries and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL), a subsidiary of ONGC Ltd, has once again extended the commissioning date for its 1-million tons per annum (mtpa) petroleum coke facility at its refinery in Mangalore, Karnataka to the middle of February 2014, an industry source said.

The company had earlier said the commissioning of the facility will take place in December 2013, but this date was extended to January 2014 and now to February 2014. "As of now, the facility is likely to be commissioned either in the first week of February or second week," the source said.

The commissioning of this refinery is likely to change the domestic pet coke market scenario to some extent as it may lead to a slight fall in the use of the imported material, a cement company official said.

"At present, the demand for pet coke in India is surplus compared to availability, hence, users import. With the commissioning of the new facility, the domestic availability will increase significantly, particularly in southern India," the official observed.

Domestic pet coke, at present, is largely a region-centric product and the material being produced in Gujarat by Reliance Industries Ltd, Essar Oil Ltd and Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) is primarily consumed by cement plants located in the western and northern regions of the country while the material from the Bhatinda refinery of HPCL is consumed mainly in Punjab and Rajasthan.

The material from BORL's Bina Refinery is consumed largely within central India.

"A part of the material from Gujarat that is currently going to south India may decline but, overall, it is the imported material that will get affected," an official with another cement company said.

MRPL's material is likely to be consumed by cement plants in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, a number of which use the imported material.