On April 20, a massive fire broke out in Pachpadra located in Balotra, Rajasthan. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was scheduled to inaugurate it on April 21.
A fire broke out at 2 pm on April 20 at the refinery of Hindustan Petroleum Limited (HPCL) in Balotra (Pachpadra) near Barmer in Rajasthan. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was scheduled to inaugurate the refinery on Tuesday (today). After this incident his tour was postponed. Come
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This accident has not only raised questions regarding safety, but has also caused a big blow to the economy of Rajasthan. In the 13 years since 2013, the cost of the refinery has already increased from Rs 37 thousand 230 crore to Rs 79 thousand 459 crore.
Bhaskar talked to the experts to know what challenges came from the foundation stone laying till the inauguration, due to which the work of the refinery was repeatedly stopped. Also, what a huge economic loss has been caused by this accident.
On April 20, a fire broke out in two crude oil refining units at the Pachpadra Refinery in Balotra. This has caused huge loss.
This is how the dream of the refinery was seen The real story behind the dream of a refinery in Pachpadra, Balotra began with the discovery of Mangala Oil Field in Barmer in 2004. Production started from here in the year 2009. Along with this, the need for local refining was felt in Rajasthan.
On 22 September 2013, the then UPA government chairperson Sonia Gandhi laid the foundation stone of the refinery at Pachpadra. Ashok Gehlot was the Chief Minister at that time.
In the model of the refinery project, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited was kept in joint venture with 74 per cent stake and Rajasthan Government as 26 per cent stake. Then its estimated cost was around Rs 37,230 crore. The target was set to commission the refinery by the year 2017–18.
The timing of laying the foundation stone and the announcement was just before the elections. In such a situation, politics also started with the laying of the foundation stone. Even before concrete tendering and construction could start in the project, Model Code of Conduct was imposed in Rajasthan. After the elections, the government changed and the refinery project got entangled in re-assessment, cost overruns and new conditions.
On September 22, 2013, the then UPA government chairperson Sonia Gandhi laid the foundation stone of the refinery at Pachpadra in Balotra.
Project put into renegotiation and review After the Vasundhara Raje-led BJP government came to power, the project was put into renegotiation and review due to concerns over high subsidies, tax benefits and low returns. After this, this project went on hold for the next five years. Congress alleged that BJP deliberately stopped it. BJP’s stand was that without review this project was a loss-making deal.
After almost 5 years of delay and controversies, there is finally hope again for the Pachpadra Refinery and Petrochemical Project. After changes in the conditions of the refinery, Prime Minister Narendra Modi restarted its work on 16 January 2018. At this time its cost had increased to Rs 43 thousand 129 crore. Its work was to be completed by 31 October 2022.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi again inaugurated the work of the refinery at Pachpadra in Balotra on 16 January 2018.
Work came to a halt during Covid After this again there was a change of power in Rajasthan. Congress government was formed under the leadership of Ashok Gehlot. Even after this, the Pachpadra Refinery project continued, but the speed remained slow due to land acquisition, environmental clearance, redesign, technical changes and cost overruns. During Covid in the years 2020 and 2021, work had come to a complete halt.
In 2023, Bhajan Lal government was formed again in Rajasthan. After the second amendment proposal in the cost price of the refinery was presented to the government, its cost had increased to Rs 79 thousand 459 crore. It was approved on 8 April 2026 and the target of commercial operation was set from 1 July 2026.
Now, after the fire that occurred on April 20, not only the inauguration of the refinery but also the target of its commercial operation has been decided to move forward. According to the status report of the day before, 92 percent work of the refinery had been completed. In such a situation, the dreams of the refinery in Rajasthan have been dealt a blow due to the fire in the same unit where a big work of oil refining was to be done. Now it is difficult to estimate when this wound will heal.
On the afternoon of April 20, a fire broke out in the refinery located at Pachpadra in Balotra. The fire brigade team had been working hard for hours to control the fire.
Repairing and damage assessment may take time Sources knowledgeable about refinery matters said that it was being claimed about this refinery that the world’s best technology, best equipment and best engineers were being used in it. In such a situation, this accident raises big questions before the inauguration.
Experts said that at present it would be too early to make any comment regarding such a big incident. For this, first of all we have to see which company this unit belonged to? Who made the supply? Was this company under the charge of an engineer or was it taken over by the engineers of the refinery? Who did the technical audit? And what was the report of those experts? Only after answers to all these questions come, something concrete can be said about this accident.
Experts believe that if the fire broke out in the heart of the refinery, the damage would have been huge. The cost of refinery is continuously increasing, while the loss caused by not starting the commercial run on time is different. However, in such a big refinery, all units and equipment are double insured. Global supplier companies also have guarantees, but the time taken for replacement and re-fabrication and installation causes huge economic loss to the production.
Distillation of crude oil starts from CDU-VDU unit. In simple words, it is here that petrol, diesel and other petroleum products are extracted from crude. After this fire, its repair and damage assessment may take 1 to 6 months. If commercial production starts from July 2026, then based on 9 MMTPA capacity, the monthly revenue would be around Rs 50 thousand to Rs 80 crore. Now every month of delay is bound to result in potential revenue loss.
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Read these news also…
1- Fire in Hindustan Petroleum refinery in Rajasthan: Controlled after several hours; Prime Minister was about to inaugurate tomorrow, program postponed after incident
Rajasthan A massive fire broke out at the refinery of Hindustan Petroleum Limited (HPCL) in Balotra near Barmer at 2 pm on Monday. According to the information, the fire broke out in two units used to clean crude oil in the refinery. Read the full news…
2- It will take 4 months to get the refinery repaired: Crude oil processing stopped, security staff ran away after seeing the flames in the refinery, know how the fire started.
A fire broke out at Pachpadra Refinery in Balotra, Rajasthan on Monday due to system failure. Eyewitness engineer says- Friction occurred between machines in two important units of the refinery. This produced a spark. Read the full news…
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