World's biggest refinery poised to start in Jamnagar

By Nidhi Verma

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Reliance Industries is set to double its capacity by starting up its new 580,000 barrels per day plant (bpd) this weekend, creating the world's biggest refinery just as global oil demand collapses.

The $6 billion project will make the oil complex in Jamnagar in Gujarat the world's single biggest supplier of fuels to the global market, pumping out 1.24 million bpd of ultra-clean fuels to Europe, Africa and the United States.

The project is a triumph for Chief Executive Mukesh Ambani, who helped break India's heavy reliance on imported fuel a decade ago with Reliance's first 660,000 bpd plant, a cash cow for the firm during a profit boom over the past four years.

Trade and industry sources told Reuters it appeared likely the company would announce the refinery's commissioning within the next week, just in time for its year-end target, although the announcement may be little more than a formality since it will take months to get the full plant running.

For tax reasons it is not expected to begin significant exports until April, when the new fiscal year begins in India.

"Pre-commissioning activities are almost over. We hope to announce start up of the refinery on Dec. 28," a company official told Reuters, declining to be identified because of company policy.

A company spokesman declined to comment on the issue on Wednesday.

This Sunday is also the birthday of the late Dhirubhai Hirachand Ambani, Ambani's father and founder of the Reliance group, who turned his textile firm into a petrochemical-to- telecom conglomerate and India's biggest private company.