Bengal CM Assures Indian Oil of Land for Haldia Expansion
The Haldia Development Authority has already arranged 85 acres, while the remaining land could be made available through the Haldia Dock Complex of Syama Prasad Mookherjee Port. Adhikari has taken up the matter with port authorities to support the transfer of land to IOC for its proposed project.
A state official said the project would be sent to IOC’s board for consideration if the land became available. The state-owned oil company is considering an expansion that may include a chemical downstream project, after seeking the contiguous parcel for several years.
IOC had earlier said that a standalone refinery was not sustainable in terms of profitability and needed to be supplemented by petrochemical facilities. The company has also sought to replicate at Haldia the model used at its Paradip refinery, where a large petrochemical ecosystem has been developed around the refinery.
Land availability has remained a longstanding constraint on expansion because the refinery is bounded by the Hooghly river, railway lines, canals and roads. In 2021, then Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan wrote to the ministers of chemicals and fertilisers and shipping, seeking intervention to make available about 175 acres held by Hindustan Fertilisers Corporation.
Commissioned in 1975 with an initial capacity of 2.5 mn tonnes per annum, the Haldia refinery has since expanded to nearly 9 mn tonnes per annum. It now produces fuels, lubricants and speciality products, and commissioned its second catalytic iso-dewaxing unit in 2024 to produce Group III lubricant base stocks. The development comes as the West Bengal government seeks to facilitate industrial projects through direct purchase, land pooling and other land-allocation mechanisms.