Another nail in the coffin for Bharat-Oman refinery
Bharat Petroleum opposes Reliance's plans for very different reasons.
Writing on behalf of its joint venture with Oman Oil, Bharat Oman Refineries (BORL), the company reckons Reliance's plan for a gas pipeline is little more than a trick, and speculates that the real "intention of M/S RIL (Reliance) or GTICL (Gas Transportation and Infrastructure Company) appears to be to lay a product pipeline after obtaining a ROU (Right of User) for the gas pipeline." If so then Bharat Oman suggests the government take steps to ensure that it is built at least half a kilometre away from a pipeline it plans to build from Vadinar in Gujarat to its proposed 6m t/y refinery at Bina in Madhya Pradesh. This theme is picked up in the IOC note, which suggests that "if the proposed gas pipeline is laid as a multi-product pipeline, Reliance can transport liquid products as well." IOC worries that "in this case the company's Central India Pipeline, in which Reliance is also a stakeholder, may not materialise" and adds: "Since the Central India Pipeline provides for evacuation of products from RPL-Jamnagar, Essar Refinery, Koyali and Bina, there is no need to put up an additional gas pipeline inter-convertible for products."
