The Mukesh Ambani-controlled Reliance Petroleum [Get Quote] plans to begin production at its second refinery in Jamnagar by mid-November. "About six weeks of work is remaining, including the synchronisation of almost 40 units. The pre-commissioning work is almost over," said sources close to the development.

The refinery, adjacent to the existing unit, was initially planned to begin operations in December. Now it seems that the project could be fully commissioned in six to seven weeks, sources added. When contacted, a Reliance spokesperson said that the refinery would be commissioned within the time frame announced earlier.

RPL is setting up the export-oriented refinery with a capacity to process 580,000 barrels a day of crude oil. It is also setting up a 900,000-tonne/ year polypropylene plant at Jamnagar.

The refinery project is being set up at a cost of Rs 27,000 crore (Rs 270 billion) and is being funded through a mix of equity and debt.

After the commissioning, Reliance's Jamnagar units, including the existing refinery, will be the world's largest single-location refining facility. The entire refinery complex will have a total processing capacity of 1.24 million barrels a day. The current production of the existing unit is 0.66 million barrels a day.

The RPL refinery project, which was flagged off in December 2005, will have the ability to process heavy and sour crude, apart from producing value-added products. It will be one of the most complex refineries in the world with a Nelson Complexity Index of 14.0.

With Asia expected to contribute 60-70 per cent of the world's incremental oil demand, the refinery will focus on these markets for exports. RPL has strategic alliance with Singapore-based Chevron India Holdings, which currently holds a 5 per cent stake in the company for the project. French major Bechtel is the engineering contractor for the project.

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