IOC gets USTDA grant for refinery modernisation

The Dollar Business Bureau

The United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) has given a grant to government-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) in order to support their efforts in the modernisation of refinery.

“The programme will help IOC analyse options for optimising its refining operations to produce cleaner fuels from its by-product streams, which will help the company improve efficiencies and reduce emissions at its refineries to meet Indian environmental standards,” USTDA said in a statement.

However, the USTDA did not provide details on the financial commitment made.

The signatory to pact was Sanjiv Singh, Director (Refineries), IOC and from the US side, John McCaslin, Minister Counselor for Commercial Affairs at Embassy of the US in New Delhi.

Commenting on the agreement, Henry Steingass, Regional Director for South and Southeast Asia at USTDA said, “We are happy to join the efforts with IOC, our important partner, as they want to enhance their operational efficiency and increase the output of cleaner fuels.”

We believe that this serves as a great opportunity for the US industry to keep building their association with the IOC, he added.

The feasibility assessments will encompass the market, technical, financial and economic analysis of cutting-edge technologies in order to support the IOC in identifying solutions to convert by-products of pet coke refinery into clean chemical products and fuels.

The project follows participation of IOC in a reverse trade mission of USTDA that brought energy officials of India to the US for site visits and meetings with US firms, which are focused on the solutions in refinery modernisation.