HPCL Vizag refinery under PCB lens

HYDERABAD: An oil refinery belonging to Hindustan Petroleum Corporation at Visakhapatnam has come under the scrutiny of Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board.

"As the emissions from the Refinery are causing smell nuisance and the emissions are exceeding the standards, the Member Secretary (of the PCB) issued orders to the refinery to restrict the crude processing to 70 per cent of the permitted capacity or to process only low Sulphur crudes having Sulphur content less than 0.5 per cent during winter season," the Pollution Control Board (PCB) said in a release.

The PCB today conducted hearing with the officials of HPCL (Vizag Refinery) at the District Collector's Office.

When contacted, an HPCL official said the company has conveyed its views to the PCB.

"We have not officially received any notice from the PCB. When they informed us in today's meeting about the production cut, we told them it is not possible to cut the production immediately as it depends on crude reserves and imports. We will request them to reconsider their decision," the official said.

The Vizag refinery processes around 25,000 tons of crude per day and was permitted to 11.5 tons of Sulphur Dioxide emission per day.