Reliance Industries Ltd will double its petroleum refining capacity to 60 million tonne entailing an investment of Rs 25,000 crore (Rs 250 billion), while it has decided to demerge its power, financial services and telecom business into separate entities, in which RIL shareholders will get proportionate stake.
The capacity at Jamnagar refinery would be doubled to 60 million tonne by the second half of 2008-09 involving an investment of $5.7 billion, RIL Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani said, addressing the annual general meeting in Mumbai on Wednesday.
The benefits of the expanded capacity would accrue from 2009-10, Mukesh said, adding this capacity addition would make RIL the largest petroleum refiner at any single point in the world.
According high priority for crude oil exploration, Mukesh announced an investment of Rs 17,600 crore (Rs 176 billion) for upstream and downstream projects in the petroleum sector.
Dwelling on the reorganisation of businesses following the settlement reached with his younger brother Anil Ambani, Mukesh said RIL would demerge power, financial and telecommunication services -- businesses that are now with Anil Ambani -- into three separate entities.
The reorganisation would unlock the shareholder value and all RIL shareholders would receive equal treatment under reorganisation, he said.
RIL has appointed CRISIL, Deloitte, Amarchand Mangaldas and JM Morgan Stanley to work out details of the reorganisation scheme, he added.
Mukesh said RIL has made 10 more oil and gas discoveries, including six at the Krishna-Godavari basin (KG) and at an onshore block in Yemen.
RIL was looking forward to making 100 discoveries, he said, adding that the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons had approved the development plan for KG D6 block.
The three oil discoveries in Yemen with an estimated initial flow rate of 5,000-8,000 barrels per day were expected to start production by the end of this year, he added.
The commercial viability of coal bed methane blocks in Sohagpur in Madhya Pradesh has been established, Mukesh said.
Reliance would increase its polyester manufacturing capacity by 550,000 tonnes per year in the current financial year. This would take RIL total polyester capacity to two million tonnes per year, CMD said.
It has also planned new purified teripthalic acid (PTA) plant at Hazira in Gujarat with a capacity of 630,000 per annum, taking total PTA capacity to 1.9 million tonnes.
RIL would evaluate opportunities for acquisitions in the petrochemicals domain, he added.
A new polypropylene plant of 280,000 tonnes per year was being set up at Jamnagar complex, he said, adding that cumulative PP capacity is expected to touch 1.43 million tonnes.
RIL has major initiatives for life sciences sector, which would eventually lead to larger world of healthcare, he added.
