11-08-2010
GUWAHATI

NRL SIGNS MOU WITH GU FOR COLLABORATIVE EXECUTIVE MBA PROGRAMME

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU )was signed today (11-08-2010) between NRL and Gauhati University for a collaborative residential MBA programme designed by Department of Business Administration, GU for NRL employees at Numaligarh. Photo shows NRL MD Dr. B. K Das (3rd from left) , GU VC Mr. Okhil Medhi ( 4th from left) and other senior members from both the institutions after the MoU signing ceremony.

NRL today signed a Memorandum of Understanding ( MoU) with Gauhati University for a first of its kind innovative industry-academia collaborative Executive MBA programme in the region. The MoU was signed by GM (HR&L) NRL, Mr. D.K. Goswami and Registrar GU, Mr. U C Das in presence of MD NRL, Dr. B.K. Das ; Vice Chancellor of GU, Dr. O. K Medhi; Senior Faculty members of Department of Business Administration, GU and NRL officials. Signing of this MoU heralds a new chapter in industry-academia interface which is construed as a symbiotic relationship that promises great benefits for both the partners. Speaking on the occasion MD NRL, Dr. B.K. Das termed the day as red letter day for NRL and thanked GU for agreeing to extend their expertise beyond the boundaries of their institution to reach out to NRL executives who would now be able to hone their management skills and also earn their post graduation in Management while pursuing their profession. He also expressed hope that this collaboration would open floodgate of many such industry - academia interfaces in the future. Vice Chancellor, GU, Dr. O. K. Medhi stressed on the importance of such mutually benefiting collaborations which would do good to enrich the knowledge base of their institution and pave the way for better understanding of the industry . Head of the Department of Business Administration GU, Dr. Munin Kakati elaborated on the curriculum which has been framed with special emphasis on the oil and energy sector. Theoretical inputs from the faculty along with practical inputs gathered by way of case studies would also be incorporated in the MBA regular course and provide good material for research and development, he opined.

23-07-2010

NRL DESPATCHES FIRST BATCH OF EURO-IV HIGH SPEED DIESEL

	First railway rake containing Euro – IV HSD being ceremonially flagged off from Numaligarh Refinery Marketing Terminal

In line with the stipulations of the ‘Auto Fuel Policy’ of Govt. of India, Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) has successfully produced the first batch of upgraded Euro-IV High Speed Diesel (HSD) . The first railway rake load containing 2,347 Kilo Litres of Euro-IV HSD valued at Rs. 7.46 crores was dispatched from NRL Marketing terminal today. The railway rake containing 36 wagons was ceremonially flagged off from Numaligarh Refinery Marketing Terminal by NRL GM(Operations) Mr. D. Ghosh in presence of officials and employees of NRL and NF Railways. The consignment is headed towards NRL’s parent company Bharat Petroleum’s installation at Budge-Budge in West Bengal.

08-06-2010

NRL CONTRIBUTES RS. 20 LAKHS TO CHIEF MINISTER’S RELIEF FUND, ASSAM

	Cheque being handed to Hon’ble Chief Minister of Assam Shri Tarun Gogoi by NRL MD Dr. B. K . Das

As in the previous years, Numaligarh Refinery Limited has come forward with financial help for taking up various welfare works and relief operations by the State machinery. The Company has contributed an amount of Rs. 20.00 lakhs to the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund, Assam for the cause of victims of the devastating floods that has gripped the State. The cheque was formally handed over to Shri Tarun Gogoi, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Assam by MD NRL , Dr. B.K.Das on 08-06-2010 at Guwahati in presence of Shri Ravi Capoor, Commissioner and Secretary, Industries and Commerce, Government of Assam and senior officials of NRL.

19-03-2010

NRL bags accolade at IMC Ramakrishna Bajaj National Quality awards

	MD NRL Dr. B. K . Das receiving the Merit Certificate from Padma Vibhushan and Rajya Sabha MP Dr. Ashok S Ganguly

NRL added yet another feather in its cap by bagging the ‘Certificate of Merit, 2009’ in ‘Manufacturing’ category of the prestigious IMC Ramkrishna Bajaj National Quality awards for 2009. The IMC Ramkrishna Bajaj National Quality awards for 2009 and the IMC Juran Quality medal for setting benchmarks in quality were presented to Indian companies at a glittering function on 19 th March 2010 at the Y B Chavan auditorium, Mumbai. MD, NRL Dr. B. K . Das received the coveted award from by Dr Ashok S Ganguly, Padma Vibhushan and Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha. It may be mentioned that NRL received this prestigious certificate at its first attempt of joining the award fray which is know for its stringent qualifying criteria which emphasize among others openness and transparency in governance and ethics; the need to create value for customers and business; and the challenges of rapid innovation as well as capitalizing on knowledge assets.

09-03-2009

Numaligarh Refinery despatches first batch of Euro – IV Motor Spirit

	Director (Technical ) NRL Mr. Dipak Chakravarty flagging off the first rake containing Euro- IV grade Motor spirit from Numaligarh Refinery Marketing terminal

To meet the requirements of the ‘Auto Fuel Policy’ of Government of India, NRL has successfully produced its first lot of Euro-IV grade Motor Spirit (Petrol). The first consignment of this high ended petrol was despatched from the Marketing Terminal of Numaligarh Refinery on 09-03-2010 to its parent company Bharat Petroleum’s installation at Budge-Budge in West Bengal through railway rake. Use of Euro- IV MS becomes mandatory in 11 select cities of India with effect from 1st April 2010. NRL is the first amongst North East Refineries to have started production and despatch of Euro – IV grade Motor Spirit.

Mr. Dipak Chakravarty, Director (Technical) NRL ceremonially flagged off the first railway rake containing Euro-IV grade Motor Spirit. In his speech delivered on the occasion, Mr. Chakravarty elaborated on the National ‘Auto Fuel Policy’ and congratulated the employees of NRL for the achievement. The function was attended by officials and staff of NRL as well as NF Railways.

26-02-2010

NRL felicitates artist couple of Deepali Borthakur and Neelpawan Barua

	NRL felicitates artist couple of Assam

In yet another expression of its strong commitment to the society, NRL felicitated the artist couple of famous singer Padmashree Deepali Borthakur and her husband noted painter and sculptor Neelpawan Barua for their invaluable contribution in enriching the social and cultural fabric of Assam through the medium of art and culture. At a solemn function held at the residence of the couple today, a citation along with a cash award was presented to them by MD NRL, Dr. B.K.Das and Director ( Technical) NRL, Mr. Dipak Chakravarty in presence of representatives from different cultural and literary entities of NRL viz. Numaligarh Sakha Sahitya Sabha, Community centre, Kaliyani Club, Rangchali Club and Numali Club.

29-12-09

National safety award

NRL bagged the National  Safety  Council  Award  “Suraksha  Prashansa  Patra”   for the year 2008 . The award was presented to NRL by the Minister of Industries, Maharashtra Shri  R  J  Darda at a function held on  29th  December   2009 at  Yashavant  Rao  Chavan Centre ,  Mumbai  in presence of the Director of National Safety Council, Mr  K C  Gupta. The award was received by the NRL team headed by GM( Operations), Mr. D  Ghosh.

08-12-09

NRL hosts Petrotech Conference at Numaligarh

	A view of the inaugural function held on 08-12-09 of the PETROTECH seminar hosted by NRL at Numaligarh

A two-day National  seminar on ‘Hydrocarbon Industry Growth- Prospects & challenges in North East’ was organized by PETROTECH Society in collaboration with Numaligarh Refinery Limited on 8th and 9th December 2009 at Numaligarh.  This was the 19th Academia Industry Interface which PETROTECH Society had organized with an endeavor to bring the teaching faculty of technical institutes and universities of the North East and the practicing managers in the oil industry together to share their knowledge, experiences and expertise in various aspects of the hydrocarbon industry so as to update the same to match the best the world over. The inaugural session of the seminar was presided over by Dr. B. K . Das MD NRL as the Chief guest in the presence of a host of dignitaries like Dr. K.P. Rao, Director, North East Institute of Science and Technology; Mr. J. L Raina, Secretary General and CEO, Petrotech Society; Mr. Dipak Chakravarty Director(Technical) NRL ; Mr. N.Bhakta  Director (Finance) NRL; and Mr. D. Ghosh, GM(Ops) NRL. Domain and technical experts from oil sector companies like ONGC, IOCL, BPCL presented their papers at the seminar which was attended by 81 delegates comprising of 36 professors and lecturers from various institutes in the North East and 45 practicing managers from various oil companies.

PETROTECH Society was conceived  by distinguished members representing the entire spectrum of the hydrocarbon industry. As on date, it has 31 Corporate members and 11 associate members.  The Governing council of PETROTECH is well represented by  major private and public sector oil companies and multinationals. Some of the main objectives of pare to provide a forum for National and International experts in the oil and gas industry to exchange views and share their knowledge, expertise and experiences; to identify and explore new areas for cooperation and technology transfer relating to the petroleum industry and to find ways to assimilate and harness the petroleum resources of the world for the benefit of mankind . PETROTECH Society besides holding the biennial International Oil and Gas conference in the PETROTECH Series also conducts seminars and workshops on various topics pertaining to the oil Industry.PETROTECH Society also operates M Tech and Phd fellowships and awards 5 research scholarships per year for research in the Petroleum Sector leading to a Phd degree.

29-11-09

Secretary Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas Visits Numaligarh Refinery

	Petroleum Secretary visits Numaligarh Refinery

Mr. R. S . Pandey, IAS, Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas(MoP&NG) visited Numaligarh Refinery on 29-11-09 in his maiden trip to the Refinery. Upon his arrival , he was received and greeted by MD, Dr. B.K.Das; D(T) Mr. Dipak Chakravarty, D(F) Mr. Nilmoni Bhakta along with all GMs and senior officials of the Company. A traditional welcome was extended to him at the River view guest house by the students of DPS Numaligarh who were dressed in traditional attire of the different North East States. A presentation was made on NRL’s activities in the Conference hall of the Admin Building wherein the visiting dignitary had a detailed interaction with the NRL Management led by MD Dr. B. K . Das.

07-11-09

Numaligarh Refinery Limited wins Jawaharlal Nehru Centenary Award for energy performance 

Numaligarh Refinery Ltd. was awarded the third prize of the “Jawaharlal Nehru Centenary Awards for Energy Performance of Refineries for the year 2007-08” at the15 th Refinery Technology Meet hosted by Centre for High Technology (CHT) and Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd at Mahabalipuram from 5 th to 7 th November 2009. Presented by Shri P K Sinha, Additional Secretary and Financial advisor to Union Government, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, the coveted s award was received by NRL Chairman Mr. Ashok Sinha who is also the Chairman and Managing Director of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited and Director (Technical) NRL Mr. Dipak Chakravarty .

The theme of the three day meet, considered one of the most prestigious events of the refining sector was “Harvesting Excellence through knowledge Partnership- Challenges for the Hydrocarbon sector” and was attended by senior members of the oil refining industry, vendors, technocrats and technology licensors of international repute and presentations were delivered by distinguished speakers on various aspects of refining technology.

07-11-09

Vigilance Awareness Week 2009 observed

Vigilance Awareness Week 2009 was observed at Numaligarh Refinery Limited with great enthusiasm and zeal during the period 03rd to 07th November’09 as per directive of Central Vigilance Commission. Vigilance Awareness Week is one of the key functions in the calendar of events of NRL.

This year the Central Vigilance Commission has emphasized that this occasion should be used to highlight awareness about effective preventive measures undertaken through system improvement and use of technology to fight corruption.

To promote vigilance awareness among all stakeholders like employees; contractors; employees of the contractors; suppliers etc. posters and hoardings highlighting importance of preventive vigilance were displayed at conspicuous locations at its offices in Numaligarh, Guwahati, New Delhi, Siliguri Marketing Terminal and Kolkata.

The program commenced with the pledge taking ceremony on 3rd November’09 at 11 AM at the Administrative Building of the Numaligarh Refinery site where senior officers and employees of the organization including CISF personnel were present. Similar pledge taking ceremony was also observed in other NRL offices.

With a view to inculcate a sense of honesty and values in the students of NRL Township, Speech; Play card and Poster competitions were organized for different group of students of DPS School, NRL Township. Further, Slogan and Essay competitions on vigilance awareness were organized for Employees and their Spouses and CISF personnel in Hindi, English and Assamese.

On this occasion, to promote probity in public life and increase awareness among the employees of the NRL, Local Contractors, Students of DPS, Numaligarh and CISF personnel posted at NRL many promotional activities related to preventive vigilance were organized.

On 5th November’09 the main function was held in the Admin Building which was presided over by Shri Nilmoni Bhakta, Director (Finance). Shri D K Samantaray, IAS and Chief Vigilance Officer, NRL was the guest of honour on the occasion. Manager (Vigilance), Shri SK Singh welcomed the guests and conducted the program.

In the main function , a compendium of circulars issued by Central Vigilance Commission on ‘Purchase and Contract’ compiled by Vigilance Department of NRL was released by Shri D K Samantaray, IAS, Chief Vigilance Officer, NRL. In his speech, Shri D K Samantaray, Chief Vigilance Officer highlighted the importance of preventive vigilance and requested all NRL employees to be more vigilant since they take certain decisions which have legal and financial ramifications but these are not usually part of the curriculum while they pursue education.

Prizes were distributed to the winners of the various competitions organized on this occasion. Senior executive of NRL, Teachers and students of DPS, Assistant Commandant CISF and employees of NRL were present at the function. Shri Nilmoni Bhakta, Director (Finance) delivered the key note address and emphasized the need of preventive vigilance in our day to day working system. He requested officials to strictly abide the CVC circulars on all stages of the contract preparation and awarding, so that more credibility, fairness and transparency can be assured to the stakeholders of NRL. Finally, Vote of thanks was delivered by General Manager (Operation).

With a view to instill good practices and ethics, on 6th November’09 Vigilance Department, NRL organized a vigilance orientation session with local Contractors and Officers of NRL at Training centre in which office bearers and members of Numaligarh Refinery New Contractors Association and NRL Officers from Commercial and Other Departments participated in good numbers. Manager (Vigilance) gave separate presentation on preventive vigilance to local Contractors and NRL officers and elaborated the expectation of the Government, Organisation and public at large from them.

On 6th November ’09, at Siliguri Marketing Terminal also a meeting with the contractors was organized in which Manager (Terminal) gave a presentation to Contractors for better understanding of government procedures and systems.

On 7th November’09 a meeting was organized at the CISF Campus where Manager (Vigilance) gave a lecture on importance of Vigilance to security personnel of CISF. Assistant Commandant, CISF and Coy Commander, CISF with their Jawans were present in the meeting.

27-10-09

NRL receives Chairman’s Award in ‘ Best Green Location: Refinery’ category

Numaligarh Refinery received the prestigious Chairman's award in the 4 th HSE&S awards ceremony in the category ‘Best green location: Refinery’ for the year 2008-09. The award was given away by Chairman and Managing Director, BPCL Mr. Ashok Sinha at a somber ceremony organized by BPC Mumbai Refinery at Grand Hotel, Mumbai on 27.10.2009 and was received by Director (Refinery), BPCL , Mr. R. K. Singh on behalf of NRL.

The corporate HSE&S award is awarded every year amongst BPC Refineries and its subsidiaries, other installations and SBUs with an aim to create a forum through which the best performing plants/supply locations could exhibit their activities and achievements.The award has multiple categories in order to reward excellence in diverse areas of operations that BPC own and operate. The evaluation criteria included health and hygiene, safety, environment and security, training management systems related to performance and initiatives.

06-10-09

NRL PAYS RS. 13.63 CRORES AS DIVIDEND FOR 2008-09 TO GOVERNMENT OF ASSAM

	Cheque of Rs. 13.63 crores being handed over to Hon’ble Chief Minister of Assam, Shri Tarun Gogoi by NRL MD, Dr. B.K Das in presence of senior Govt and Company officials.

Numaligarh Refinery Limited has paid an amount of Rs. 13.63 crores as dividend for the financial year 2008-09 to the Govt. of Assam for its equity holding of 12.35% in the Company. The dividend cheque was formally handed over to Shri Tarun Gogoi, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Assam by Dr. B.K.Das, Managing Director NRL on 06-10-09 at Guwahati . Also present on the occasion were Shri Ravi Capoor, Commissioner and Secretary, Industries and Commerce Deptt, Govt. of Assam, and other Government and NRL officials.

The resolution of declaring a dividend of 15% to NRL shareholders for the year 2008-09 was adopted in the 16th Annual General meeting of the Company held on 04-09-09 at Guwahati. Other than the dividend amount, the contribution by NRL to the exchequer of Assam Government towards taxes and duties for the year 2008-09 has been Rs. 298.60 crores.

It may be mentioned that during the financial year 2008-09, NRL recorded the highest ever sales turnover at Rs.8,853 crores and was able to record a profit after tax figure of Rs. 235.65 crores .

04-09-09

NRL DECLARES 15% DIVIDEND FOR 2008-09 - ASSAM GOVERNMENT RECEIVES RS.13.63 CRORES AS ITS SHARE

	NRL Board of Directors during the 16 th AGM of the Company held on 04-09-09

The 16 th Annual General Meeting of NRL was held at Hotel Brahmaputra Ashok, Guwahati on Friday, the 4 th of September, 2009 where a dividend of 15% (Rs.1.50 per equity share) for the year 2008-09 on the paid up share capital was declared. The Meeting was presided over Sri Ashok Sinha, Chairman and Managing Director Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) and Chairman NRL and was attended by Dr. B.K.Das, Managing Director NRL and other members of the Board.

During the financial year 2008-09, NRL recorded the highest ever sales turnover at Rs.8,853 crores, an increase of 1.02% as compared to Rs. 8764 crores in the previous year and also recorded a profit after tax figure of Rs. 235.65 crores despite challenges faced on account of lower realisation in excise relief, reduction in tariff protection and unfavourable spread between crude and product prices. The total dividend to be paid by NRL for the FY 2008-09 to its shareholders, namely M/s BPCL, M/s OIL and GOA would amount to Rs. 110.34 crores. Govt. of Assam shall receive Rs. 13.63 crores as dividend for its equity of 12.35% in NRL. In addition, NRL has paid Rs. 298.60 crores to the Government of Assam towards taxes and duties for the year 2008-09.

During the year 2008-09, the refinery processed 2.25 million tonnes of crude oil, maximising production of distillates like petrol, diesel, ATF and kerosene, which resulted in achievement of distillate yield of 84.72%, one among the highest in the Indian oil industry. The Gross Refinery Margin (GRM) recorded by the refinery was marginally higher at $6.98 per barrel compared to US $6.36 per barrel in the previous year. On the retail marketing front, NRL continued to achieve high per pump throughput and recorded market effectiveness of 1.54 indicating better performance than competitors in the same trading area.

On the safety front, the Company continued to raise its bar in safety management systems. Incident of Loss time accident (LTA) or of major fire continued to be nil during the year 2008-09. The Company achieved 12.05 million Loss time accident (LTA) free man-hours as on 31 st March, 2009 equivalent to more than 7 years.

NRL’s commitment to the environment and ecology continues to grow.The year 2008-09 was the third consecutive year for the Company to have successfully re-used 100% of liquid effluent treated in the refinery as well as in the township, resulting in zero effluent discharge. Liquid effluent and air quality parameters were constantly monitored and were maintained well within the stipulated pollution control norms.

For long term sustenance and growth, NRL continues to pursue a few value added projects. The Company has recently completed the Marketing Terminal at Siliguri at a project cost of Rs. 186.23 crores as a linked project to the Numaligarh-Siliguri product pipeline project implemented by M/s Oil India Limited. The pipeline has been built to provide a smooth, reliable and economical mode for product evacuation from Numaligarh Refinery which would also help in reducing railway freight under-recoveries. To meet the requirements of the Auto Fuel Policy, NRL is implementing a Diesel Quality Upgradation project at a project cost of Rs. 435 crores, which would enable NRL to produce Euro-III HSD as well as required quantities of Euro-IV HSD at 100% capacity utilization of the refinery. The Diesel Quality Upgradation Project is expected to be completed by April 2010. As part of efforts towards continuous improvement in energy conservation and overall efficiency in plant operations, NRL is installing a 12 MW STG at a project cost of Rs. 38.52 crores. The project has been pursued for generating power utilizing surplus steam available in the refinery. Installation of the STG would result in savings of naphtha as fuel in the captive power plant and fuel & feed in the Hydrogen plant with corresponding reduction in Green House Gas (GHG) emission (CO 2). The project is in final stage of completion. Few other projects viz. Naphtha Splitter Unit for production of around 160 TMT of petrochemical grade naphtha per annum as feedstock to the Assam Gas Cracker project and Wax Project for production of ‘paraffin and microcrystalline wax’, are also being pursued.

NRL also has equity participation in two important joint venture companies, namely M/s Brahmaputra Cracker and Polymer Limited (BCPL) for implementing the Assam Gas Cracker Project, where it holds 10% equity and M/s DNP Limited for implementing the natural gas pipeline project from Duliajan to Numaligarh, where its equity holding is 26%.

In recognition of the Company’s excellence in areas of safety, environment management and energy conservation, several awards were conferred to the company since March 2008. Important awards include the TERI Corporate Environment Excellence Award, 2008 for the second successive year; National Energy Conservation award 2008 also for the second consecutive year; Greentech Gold Safety award 2008; Oil and Gas Conservation award 2008 from Centre for high technology (CHT); Oil Industry Safety award 2007-08 from OISD; and BPCL Chairman’s appreciation award 2008 in green category.

NRL’s Integrated Information system (IIS) function has achieved the prestigious ISO 27001:2005 Certification for its Information Security Management System (ISMS) from DNV Netherlands. This is a significant achievement being the first among all oil PSUs in the country, which ensures appropriate safety controls within the organisation to safeguard information and intellectual property assets.

26-08-09

NRL felicitates Sahitya Academy winner couple of Late Dilip Sarma and Sudakshina Sarma

	Smti Sudakshina Sarma being handed over the citation by NRL MD Dr,. B.K.Das.

NRL felicitated the Sahitya Academy award winner couple of noted Assamese cultural icon, singer of the masses and folk artist Late Dilip Sarma posthumously and his wife prominent singer Smt. Sudakshina Sarma at Guwahati today. At a solemn function held at the Pub Sarania residence of the Sarmas, a citation was presented to Smt Sudakshina Sarma along with a cash award of Rs. 1.5 lakhs by MD NRL, Dr. B.K.Das in presence of representatives from various cultural and literary entities of NRL viz Numaligarh Sakha Sahitya Sabha, Community centre, Kaliyani Club, Rangchali Club and Numali Club. Also present on the occasion was the couple’s son Shri Rishiraj Sarma, who presented a few songs in fond remembrance of his Late father.

13-08-09

NRL CONTRIBUTES RS. 20 LAKHS TO CHIEF MINISTER’S RELIEF FUND, ASSAM

As in the previous years, Numaligarh Refinery Limited has come forward with financial help for taking up various welfare works and relief operations by the Assam Government. The Company has contributed an amount of Rs. 20.00 lakhs to the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund, Assam. The cheque was formally handed over to Shri Tarun Gogoi, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Assam at his official residence by Dr. B.K.Das, Managing Director NRL on 13-08-09 in presence of other senior officials of the Government of Assam and NRL.

02-07-09

NRL Achieves ISO 27001:2005 Standard Certification

Numaligarh Refinery Limited, the state of the art petroleum refinery in the North-East, has achieved the prestigious ISO 27001:2005 certification for its Information Security Management System (ISMS). NRL obtained the ISO 27001:2005 Certification, from DNV Netherlands, one of the world's leading independent testing and assessment services under accreditation of UKAS who made a thorough assessment of its Received after assessment of its Information Technology function (IIS) for the certification.

ISO 27001:2005 is an internationally recognized benchmark that ensures appropriate safety controls are set within an organization to safeguard information and intellectual property assets. ISO 27001:2005 specifies the requirements for establishing, implementing, operating, monitoring, reviewing, maintaining and improving a documented Information Security Management System within the context of the organization's overall business risks.

As per certification, Numaligarh Refinery Limited ( IIS Department) conforms to ISO/IEC 27001:2005 standard in application of information security management system for provision of IT & IT related services to NRL users as per latest statement of applicability. NRL is the first company among oil industries in the country to achieve ISO 27001 certification.

Since its inception the company has been guided by the principle of making use of Information Technology as a strategic tool of managing resources and business processes. The company implemented ERP solution in October 1998, during project stage itself, to integrate all the business functions in phases. 

With the changing business requirements and a new thrust by the company to diversify into retail marketing of its products, a need was felt to adopt new business solution embedded with best business practices and control. NRL has migrated to SAP R/3 ERP suite in August 2005, to cater to the new business requirements as well as to get the synergistic benefit with the major stake holding company - BPCL. Now, NRL has a robust back-end IT set up that extends information system services over latest communication media to its many business locations in the country.

01-05-09

Dr. Bhupen Hazarika felicitated at NRL

Asom Ratna and the cultural icon of Assam - singer, composer, lyricist, litterateur, music director and film director, Dr. Bhupen Hazarika was felicitated by employees and associates of Numaligarh Refinery Limited on 01-05-09 at Numaligarh. At a function held at Numaligarh Refinery Township premises, Dr. Hazarika was honoured with a citation and a cheque presented by NRL MD, Dr. B.K.Das. Dr. Hazarika arrived on a visit to Numaligarh Refinery on 30-04-09. Accompanying him were eminent filmmaker Ms. Kalpana Lajmi and noted singer Ms. Manisha Hazarika. Dr. Hazarika interacted with NRL employees and their families, who gathered in large numbers to meet and pay their regards and respects to the living legend of the State.

22-04-09

17 th Foundation Day of NRL celebrated

NRL celebrated its 17 th Foundation Day on 22 nd April, 2009. It is on this day that the Company came into being in the year 1993, in fulfillment of the commitment made in the historic ‘Assam Accord’. True to its promise, the Company has served as a nucleus of growth and has been able to provide significant thrust in the industrial development of the North East, thereby contributing towards the socio-economic development of Assam and the North East.

NRL day was celebrated with aplomb in all locations of the Company, where employees got together to observe this special day. At the functions held to mark the occasion, NRL day Pledge was taken by the employees in Assamese, Hindi and English. This was followed by rendition of the NRL Theme song, which captures the spirit of the company’s march towards building a refinery at Numaligarh as well as its marketing network, thereby laying the foundation for a strong and vibrant enterprise. In his message to all employees, MD NRL, Dr. B.K.Das apprised the employees about the developments in the company in the face of the volatile market scenario and urged them to continue in their quest for excellence in all spheres of activities, while maintaining the highest standards of moral and ethical work practices.

19-12-08

In appreciation of achievements in the field of Energy Conservation, the Ministry of Power, Govt. of India has awarded NRL the 2nd prize of the National Energy Conservation Award for the year 2008 in the Refineries Sector. The award was presented by the Hon’ble Union Minister of Power, Shri Sushil Kumar Shinde at a function at New Delhi recently. The National Energy Conservation Award, which is one of the highest level awards in the field of energy conservation has been bagged by NRL for two consecutive years now. This award gives due recognition to the excellent energy performance of the refinery and energy conservation efforts put forth by the refinery in implementing a number of ENCON ( Energy Conservation) projects. Right from the conceptual stage of the Refinery, various provisions were incorporated to make refinery energy efficient , some of which are pinch technology, installation of high efficiency furnaces, maximization of air cooling, installation of co-generation plant, installation of power recovery turbine, installation of condensate recovery system, installation of state- of- the art instrumentation and digital control system, Caste Iron & Glass Air pre-heaters in all the major Fired heaters in the refinery. The refinery has been a pioneer in implementing several energy saving projects like Telescopic insulation in the reformer tubes in Hydrogen Unit, Step less control system in Make Up Gas compressor in Hydrocracker Unit etc. A recently carried out retrofitting scheme for re-insulation over DCU coke chamber will help in saving appreciable amount of non-renewable fossil fuels.

08-11-08
NRL OBSERVES VIGILANCE WEEK

Vigilance Awareness Week 2008 was organized in a befitting manner in the Numaligarh Refinery Limited during the week from 3rd to 7th November 2008 as per directive of Central Vigilance Commission.

To promote vigilance awareness posters and hoardings were displayed at conspicuous locations at all NRL Offices and Township. Vigilance Department of NRL organized Vigilance Awareness Week in line with the circular issued by the CVC. Propagation of essence of Public Interest Disclosure and Protection of Informer Resolution also known as ‘Whistle Blowers Resolution’ in order to make the public as well as users of the services of the organizations proactive in lodging complaints against corrupt officers/practices without disclosure of their identity for an efficient and ethical environment, transparency in systems and procedures and efficiency in public spending of the govt. budgets were the themes selected this year by the CVC.

The program commenced with the pledge taking ceremony on 3rd November at 11 AM at the Administrative Building of the Numaligarh Refinery site where all senior officers and employees of the organization were present. Shri Nilmani Bhakta Director (Finance) and Pallab Bhattacharyya, Chief Vigilance Officer administered the Vigilance pledge in Hindi and English respectively. Shri Dipak Chakravarty, Director (Technical) read out the message issued from Hon’ble President of India on this occasion. Message issued by Vice president of India was also read out by Shri D K Goswami, Head (HR and Legal). Shri Thomas Zakariah, Advisor (Project) read out the message issued from Central Vigilance Commission.

On 3rd November Pledge taking ceremony was also observed at the others offices of the NRL at Guwahati, Siliguri, Kolkata and New Delhi.

To promote probity in public life and increase awareness among the employees of the company , vendors, students of DPS, Numaligarh and public as a whole many promotional activities related to vigilance like slogan and essay competitions in Hindi English and Assamese for employees , Slogan and Speech competition for the students of the DPS , Interaction session with officers and vendors , Demonstration of quality checking of products at NRL Retail Outlets to public and interaction with dealers and consumers were held through out the week.

On 4th of November , the main function was held in the Admin Building which was presided over by Director (Technical). Shri Pallab Bhattacharyya, Chief Vigilance Officer highlighted the spirit of Public Interest Disclosure and Protection of Informer Resolution. Prizes were distributed to the winners of the various competitions organized on this occasion. Principal of DPS, Numaligarh Students of DPS put up an impressive show with their prize winning slogans and speech. Director (Technical) and Director (Finance) delivered the key addresses and emphasized the need of honesty in public dealing and informed about the initiatives taken by NRL including steps taken for implementation of Integrity Pact. Finally, Vote of thanks was delivered by Manager (Vigilance)

Vigilance Department, NRL organized an interaction session with vendors and officers of NRL on 5th November in which office bearers and members of Numaligarh Refinery New Contractors Association, Numaligarh Refinery Tankers Owners Association and NRL Officers from Commercial and Administration Department participated. Chief Vigilance Officer, NRL chaired the meeting and elaborated the message from Central Vigilance Commission and appealed to all present for their active participation in fighting corruption.

During the week, NRL Marketing Department organized demonstration of quality checking for public at NRL Energy Stations.

On 7th November 2008 at 3 PM a meeting was organized at the Marketing Terminal, Siliguri in which officers of NRL, EIL and Vendors working with Marketing Terminal , Siliguri participated in good numbers. Manager (Vigilance) highlighted essence of PIDPI Resolution and gave a presentation on role of officers and vendors in transparent handling of contracts. Manager (Projects) delivered the vote of thanks.

30-09-08

	Dividend cheque from NRL

Numaligarh Refinery Limited has paid an amount of Rs. 18.17 crores as dividend for the financial year 2007-08, to the Govt. of Assam for its equity holding of 12.35% in the Company. The dividend cheque was formally handed over to Shri Tarun Gogoi, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Assam, by Dr. B.K.Das, Managing Director NRL on 30-09-08 at Guwahati . Also present on the occasion were Shri Rockbul Hussain, Forest Minister, Govt. of Assam, Shri H. S. Das, Principal Secretary to the Govt. of Assam, Finance Deptt., Shri Dipak Chakravarty, Director (Technical) NRL and other Government and NRL officials.

The resolution of declaring a dividend of 20% to NRL shareholders for the year 2007-08 was adopted in the 15 th Annual General meeting of the Company held on 12-09-08 at Guwahati. The contribution by NRL to the exchequer of Assam Government including taxes and duties for the year 2007-08 has been Rs. 241.42 crores.

It may be mentioned that during 2007-08, crude oil processing at Numaligarh Refinery at 2.57 million tonnes, was the highest ever since commencement of commercial operations. On the financial front, notwithstanding multiple challenges, NRL succeeded in posting a net profit of around Rs. 373 crores for the year ending 31 st March, 2008. The company achieved record sales turnover during the year at Rs. 8764 crores, which was higher than the previous year’s turnover at Rs. 7930 crores by 10.5%.

12-09-08

	NRL Board of Directors during the 15th AGM of the Company held on 12-09-08

During the financial year 2007-08, Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) registered the highest ever refinery throughput of 2.57 million tonnes and also earned profit after tax of Rs. 373 crores despite facing challenges of marketing under recoveries. The 15th Annual General Meeting of NRL was held at Hotel Brahmaputra Ashok, Guwahati on Friday, the 12th September, 2008. The Meeting was presided over by the Chairman, NRL, Sri Ashok Sinha, who is also the Chairman and Managing Director of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) and was attended by MD NRL and other members of the Board. The resolution of declaring a dividend of 20% for the year 2007-08 was adopted in the meeting. With this, the total dividend to be paid by NRL for the financial year 2007-08 to its shareholders, namely M/s Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited , M/s Oil India Limited and Government of Assam would amount to Rs. 147.13 crores. Govt. of Assam shall receive Rs. 18.17 crores as dividend for its equity of 12.35% in NRL. The contribution by NRL to the exchequer of Assam Government including taxes and duties for the year 2007-08 would be Rs. 241.42 crores.

During 2007-08, crude oil processing at Numaligarh Refinery at 2.57 million tonnes, was the highest ever since commencement of commercial operations. The year had seen the refinery achieve 85.6% capacity utilization. The refinery continued to maximize production of high value distillates like petrol, diesel, ATF and kerosene, recording a net distillate yield of 84.84% during the year, which was amongst the highest in the industry. As a result of stringent loss control measures, the refinery could limit its fuel and loss at 10.2% while specific energy consumption at 66.1 MBN was the lowest ever in the company’s history. NRL Retail outlets achieved better sales performance than the industry average in most of its trading areas, though there were some pricing under-recoveries in MS and HSD retail sales. Overall performance of NRL during 2007-08 was placed under ‘excellent’ category in terms of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with its holding company, BPCL.

On financial front, notwithstanding multiple challenges, NRL succeeded in posting a net profit of around Rs. 373 crores for the year ending 31 st March, 2008. The company achieved record sales turnover during the year at Rs. 8764 crores, which was higher than the previous year’s turnover at Rs. 7930 crores by 10.5%.

During 2007-08, Numaligarh Refinery continued its excellence in terms of safety management, completing over six years of loss-time-accident (LTA) free operations. The total LTA free manhours achieved upto 31 st March, 2008 was 10.3 million manhours.

For long term sustenance and growth, NRL has identified a few value added projects which are being actively pursued. The MS plant which was commissioned in the year 2006-07 operated at 124% capacity in 2007-08 producing 230 TMT of Euro-II & Euro-III grade MS (petrol), yielding healthy returns to the company. Another project, namely the Siliguri Marketing Terminal Project is in advanced stage of completion which would lead to reduction in freight cost for product evacuation outside North East besides providing a reliable and efficient mode of product transportation. A Diesel Quality Upgradation Project is being implemented in the refinery at a cost of Rs. 435 crores to facilitate production of Euro-III HSD at 100% capacity utilization as well as required quantities of Euro-IV HSD from April 2010 to meet requirements of the Auto Fuel Policy. The company is also setting up a 12 mega watt Steam Turbine Generator (STG) in the refinery for production of power utilizing excess steam in the refinery. Besides saving in fuel cost for power generation, the STG project would provide opportunity for earnings in terms of ‘carbon credit’ trading for a ten year period starting 1 st December, 2008 . The project has been registered as a ‘Clean Development Mechanism’ (CDM) project with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Another CDM project, namely the Natural Gas Utilisation Project is also being pursued by NRL that would lead to substitution of naphtha by relatively cheaper natural gas as fuel and feed in the refinery, besides resulting in lower generation of green-house-gases (CO 2) and potential benefits from ‘carbon credits’. Three other projects for production of high value ‘needle coke’, ‘paraffin and microcrystalline wax’, ‘petrochemical grade naphtha’ are also being pursued.

NRL also has equity participation in two important joint venture companies, namely M/s Brahmaputra Cracker and Polymer Limited (BCPL) for implementing the Assam gas cracker project, where it holds 10% equity and M/s DNP Limited for implementing the natural gas pipeline project from Duliajan to Numaligarh, where its equity holding is 26 % .

In recognition of the company’s excellence in areas of environment management, energy conservation and safety, several awards were received by NRL. Important awards include TERI Corporate Environment Excellence Award for two consecutive years 2007 and 2008 ; National Energy Conservation Award 2007; Shrestha Suraksha Puraskar ; Greentech Gold Safety Award 2008; Oil and Gas Conservation Award 2008 from Center of High Technology and Oil Industry Safety Award 2007-08 from the Oil Industry Safety Directorate (OISD).

28-07-08
NRL contributes Rs 20 Lakhs to Chief Minister's Relief Fund, Assam

As in the previous years, NRL has come forward with financial help for taking up various welfare works and relief operations by the State machinery. The Company has contributed an amount of Rs. 20.00 lakhs to the Chief Minister's Relief Fund, Assam for the cause of victims of the devastating floods that has gripped the State. The cheque was formally handed over to Shri Tarun Gogoi, Hon'ble Chief Minister of Assam by Dr. B.K.Das Managing Director NRL on 28-07-08 at Guwahati.

25-07-08
NRL wins OISD Award 2008

Director (Technical) NRL, Mr. Dipak Chakravarty (3rd from right ) receives the award from Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Mr. M.S. Srinivasan (4th from right)

NRL has bagged the second prize in the 'Refineries' Category of the prestigious Oil Industry Safety Awards for the year 2008. Instituted by the Oil Industry Safety Directorate (OISD) under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural gas , the award is held in very high esteem by the Oil Industry in India and assumes utmost significance for NRL since it gives due recognition to its sustained efforts to excel in Safety performance. The award which carries a trophy and a citation was presented by the Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Mr. M.S. Srinivasan to Director (Technical), NRL Mr. Dipak Chakravarty at the award ceremony held in Chennai on 25-07-08.

The award was earlier conferred on NRL in the year 2006.After the 'Shrestha Suraksha Puraskar' conferred by the National Safety Council and the 'Green tech gold safety award', this is the third safety award bagged by NRL in the current year.

25-07-08
NRL bags "Oil & Gas Conservation Award" for 2008

Shri M S Srinivasan, Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (extreme right) presenting the award to NRL MD Dr. B K Das (3rd from right) at a function in New Delhi on 24th July, 2008.

Numaligarh Refinery Limited has been awarded the 2nd prize of Oil & Gas Conservation Awards - 2008 in the category of Furnace & Boiler Efficiency amongst refineries having total design heat duty up to 500 MMKcal/Hr. The award was presented by Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Mr. M.S. Srinivasan to NRL MD, Dr. B.K.Das at a function held in New Delhi on 24-07-08. Instituted by Centre of High Technology ( CHT) under Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, the award was based on the out come of a joint survey conducted by a team deputed by the Centre for High Technology (CHT) in the areas of Furnace & Boiler Efficiency and Furnace & Boiler Insulation Effectiveness in all the refineries during Oil & Gas Conservation Fortnight - 2008. The survey was conducted during January 21-25, 2008.

24-06-08
NRL registers its first CDM Project with UNFCCC

NNRL has registered its first CDM (Clean Development Mechanism) Project with the UNFCCC(United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change). NRL's 12 Mega Watt STG (Steam Turbine Generator) Project for generation of captive power by recovery and utilization of excess steam has been registered under UNFCCC. The project was taken up considering the huge potential of CO2 emission reduction and consequent generation of high amount of Carbon Emission Reduction (CER) value. Registering of NRL's first CDM project is manifestation of the Company's concern about Environmental issues which extend much beyond its operational area and addressing concerns which are as important globally.

The 12 MW STG Project will capture and utilise the waste pressure energy across steam pressure reduction valves and waste thermal energy of surplus high pressure (HP) steam generated from the various process units of the Refinery. An estimated 8.3 MW power will be generated from waste pressure and thermal energy. This will ensure reduction in consumption of Naphtha, which is being used as fuel in the existing Gas Turbine Generators (GTGs). Total reduction of 41,885 MT of CO2 equivalents per annum has been estimated after implementation of this project.

After completion of pre-registration activities to comply with all requirements for any project seeking registration under Clean Development Mechanism, UNFCCC finally registered NRL's STG project as a CDM project on 9th June, 2008 with a crediting period of 10 years starting from 1st Dec,2008.

There is a common consensus the world over that affect of global warming on climate change is real and serious which could eventually threaten mankind's very existence. The UNFCCC is a distinct forum formed under Kyoto Protocol with an objective of reducing greenhouse gases that cause global warming leading to climate change. The Clean Development Mechanism has been formulated under this protocol and commits industrial countries, called Annex-1 countries, to attain legally binding Green House Gas (GHG) emission reduction targets during the period 2008-2012 by an average of 5% below 1990 emissions level. With the aim to maximize effectiveness of climate change mitigation, the Annex-I countries have been given the opportunity of providing financial resources to reduce GHG emissions in developing countries that have ratified Kyoto Protocol. Through a project based mechanism called the CDM, developed countries can invest in developing countries for CDM Projects in lieu of comparatively larger investments required for meeting target of GHG emissions in their own countries and gain carbon credit. Also, reduction of emission in terms of CER achieved by an enterprise in a developing country adds to its carbon asset, which can be traded i.e any organization in a developed country can reduce their liability of emission targets by purchasing CER from any organization in a developing country.

05-06-08
TERI Corporate Environmental Excellence Award 2008 for NRL

NRL MD Dr. B.K. Das (2nd from right) receiving the prestigious TERI Award from Hon’ble Union Minister, Mr. Kamal Nath (3rd from left), while TERI Director General, Dr R.K Pachauri (2nd from left) and former Hon’ble Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India, Mr. J S Verma (4th from left) look on.

NRL has bagged the 1st prize of TERI Corporate Award for Environmental excellence 2008 in the category of Corporates with Annual turn over more than Rs. 500 crores . The award is in recognition of the Company’s leadership efforts towards Environment Management and innovative initiatives taken in that direction.

The coveted award which is highly regarded in business circles was handed over by Hon’ble Union Minister for Commerce & Industry, Mr. Kamal Nath to NRL MD, Dr B. K.Das at an award ceremony at New Delhi on 31-05-08 in presence of noted environmentalist and Director General of TERI Dr. R.K Pachauri, former Hon’ble Chief Justice of India, Mr. J S Verma and a galaxy of dignitaries from Corporate sector, Government, foreign missions, multilateral and bilateral agencies.

Instituted by TERI ( The Energy and Resources Insititute), this award recognizes excellence in Environment Management, thereby providing impetus to sustainable development and the ongoing process of environment management within Corporate circles.

The award assumes a lot of significance for NRL which has been sincerely pursuing its environment management policy by adopting safe and eco-friendly technologies, sound design and engineering practices right from its inception. NRL puts a great deal of importance to spread the awareness of environment protection in an extensive way, not only amongst its employees, but also amongst the masses, who form the immediate neighborhood of the refinery. Besides conducting programs for its employees on environmental issues, programs and talks are conducted for the neighbouring villagers time to time to educate them on environmental conservation issues.

09-04-08
NRL receives Green Tech Gold Safety award

Numaligarh Refinery Limited has been honoured with the prestigious Greentech Gold Safety award for its outstanding performance on the Health, Safety and Security front. The honour is yet another glowing testimony of NRL's excellent safety performance.

The coveted award instituted by the Greentech Foundation, New Delhi was given away jointly by the President, Greentech Foundation, Mr. Kamaleshwar Saran and Dr. B K Das, MD, NRL at a ceremony widely participated by most of the prominent Corporate houses in India. Mr. Dipak Chakravarty, Director (Technical), NRL received the award along with his team at Bombay Exhibition Centre, Goregaon, Mumbai on 9th April 2008. A three day conference on "Fire, Safety & Security" was also conducted by the foundation on the occasion. A presentation on Disaster Mitigation was made by Director (Technical), NRL in the conference.

19-03-08
NRL signs MOU with BPCL for FY 2008-09

The MOU for the year 2008-09 between NRL and its holding Company BPCL was signed on 19th March 2008 at BPCL Corporate Office in New Delhi. The MOU was signed by Shri A. Sinha, CMD, BPCL and Dr. B.K. Das, MD, NRL in presence of officials from both companies.‘Excellent’ targets set in the MOU 2008-09 on some important parameters are as follows:

31-01-08
NRL observes Oil & Gas Conservation Fortnight'2008

Numaligarh Refinery Ltd observed “Oil & Gas Conservation Fortnight-2008" from 16th January to 31st January ' 08 in a befitting manner with a fortnight long program involving a gamut of activities / programs with the participation and involvement of employees and a wide cross section of people residing in the vicinity of the refinery . A series of events/activities marked the observance of this year Oil & Gas conservation fortnight. The objective of observation of the fortnight is to generate awareness amongst employees in particular and neighboring people in general on the importance of conserving oil & gas and other form of energy.

The theme of this year Oil & Gas Conservation Fortnight was "Save Oil, Save Gas, Save our children” emphasizing the need of conservation of oil and Natural gas for our future generations to ensure a better tomorrow . Attractive eye catching banners with the theme of the fortnight and different Oil & Gas conservation slogans were displayed at different strategic locations.

The fortnight long celebrations was formally inaugurated at NRL on 16th January, 2008 with administration of Conservation pledge where hundreds of employees joined in. Messages received from Hon’ble Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas was read out on the occasion.

To spread the energy conservation awareness, various programs and activities were taken up by NRL during Oil & Gas Conservation Fortnight . On 24th January , 2008 an “ Workshop on energy conservation” a very useful and interesting awareness campaign on conservation oil and gas was organized for the housewives of nearby localities at Panka Village in “ Sapta Swahid Puthi Bharal” with the help and coordination of activists of a local NGO "Sankalpa" .Around 65 ladies of the localities attended the workshop where the judicious usage of LPG in kitchen in particular and other form energy which includes the electrical appliances in day to day's field of activities in general were discussed . The house wives interacted with the NRL officials on various energy savings tips. Local people of the nearby areas expressed happiness and thanked NRL for the initiative of organizing such useful sessions for them.

On 29th January, 2008 a colourful awareness program an “Awareness meeting and speech competition” was organised for the at the nearby " Deopahar ME School " Labanghat with the association of teachers & students of nearby schools and help of local residents. The topic of speech competition was “Energy conservation is a boon for next generation” which was followed by a discussion session. Around 450 students of nearby 6 schools situated adjacent to NRL along with their teachers thronged the venue. The students from the various schools got the opportunity to interact with the NRL Officials on the various energy saving tips.

A joint survey on ``Insulation effectiveness and furnace ,boiler efficiency” was carried out during 21st to 25th January as a step of energy conservation by the Technocrats of Centre for High Technology , a Autonomous Body under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas , Govt of India. Energy auditors from HPCL Vizag Refinery and IOCL Guwahati covered all the furnaces and boilers of the Refinery offered for the survey.

In accordance with the observance of “OGCF-2008” useful discussions and presentations were held amongst employees on different topics like prospects of Utilization of wind power in North East India as well as. avenues for Bio-Diesel production and Jetropha cultivation in North East and NRL Green belt. A technical presentation was also held on application of ``Computational analysis of fluid dynamics for improving heat transfer and efficiency” of some Power plant and process plant equipment of the Refinery during the fortnight .

Apart from the above, various competition like slogan, suggestion and essay in the field of oil & gas and energy conservation and their judicious usage were conducted amongst the employees of the Refinery including employees of the VKNRL hospital and CISF.

The valedictory function was held in the morning hours on 31st Jan08 at Fire & Safety Deptt premises. The function was attended by a large nos of employees covering almost all the sections. The prizes for different competitions were distributed at the concluding function.. The Fortnight ended with the assurance for continuing the efforts for conserving oil & gas through out the year


08-01-08
Shrestha Suraksha Puraskar for NRL

NRL received the prestigious 'Shrestha Suraksha Puraskar' for the year 2006 from the National Safety Council, an apex autonomous body set up by the Ministry of labour for developing and leading the voluntary movement on safety, health and environment. The award, which comprises of a citation and a certificate was presented to NRL by Hon'ble Union Minister of Labour & Employment, Shri Oscar Fernandes at a glittering function held in Nehru Centre, Mumbai on 08-01-08. Started in 1998, this award is given to organisations for achieving outstanding Occupational safety and health performance and implementing effective management systems and procedures.

16-12-07
NRL commences export of High Speed Diesel to Bangladesh

Numaligarh Refinery has commenced export of High Speed Diesel(HSD) to the neighbouring country of Bangladesh with despatch of its first consignment on 16th of December' 07 from Silghat port in Nagaon District of Assam. Two Bangladeshi barges namely Hangang-1 and Darashako carrying about 1400 MT set sail from Silghat, which was declared as the Port of Call in Indian territory for onward shipment to Baghabari in Northern Bangladesh which is the Bangladeshi Port of Call along the river Brahmaputra via Dhubri in lower Assam . Loading is in progress for two more Indian barges, Naharkatia and Barauni which are scheduled to sail within this month carrying 2100 MT of HSD. HSD from the Refinery was brought to the jetty site in tank lorries and pumped to the barges anchored at Silghat, which is located at a distance of about 100 kms from the Refinery.

It may be mentioned that the agreement to export diesel to Bangladesh was signed on 17th May, 2007 between NRL's holding Company, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited and Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation Limited. As per the terms of the agreement, NRL would export 1,20,000 MT of HSD annually . The initial period of validity of the Contract was from June to December, 2007 to be renewed thereafter. After obtaining necessary clearances from various concerned agencies, export to Bangladesh commenced on the 16th of December, 2007.

14-12-07
NRL receives National Energy Conservation Award 2007

Hon'ble President of India, Smt. Pratibha Patil presenting the award to NRL MD, Dr. B.K. Das.

Numaligarh Refinery Limited has received the second prize of the prestigious National Energy Conservation Award 2007 in the Refineries sector. The award was presented by the Hon'ble President of India, Smt. Pratibha Patil to MD NRL, Dr. B.K.Das at a function held at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi on 14th of December, 2007 on the occasion of National Energy Conservation day. Instituted by the Bureau of Energy efficiency ( BEE ) under the Ministry of Power, this award gives national recognition to institutions/ industries who have made commendable efforts in the direction of Energy Conservation by systematic and serious attempts for efficient utilization and conservation of energy.

NRL has been able to achieve optimum efficiency in plant operations . This has been possible due to adoption of eco-friendly technology right from the inception of the refinery, continual efforts in the direction of energy conservation by adopting a number of energy conservation measures and schemes along with the whole hearted and collective efforts and commitment of the employees towards enhancing plant performance. It may be mentioned that in the last three years, refinery specific energy consumption, which is a measure of energy efficiency has come down from 76.4 MBN in 2004-05, 75.4 MBN in 2005-06 to 72.5 MBN in 2006-07.

12-10-07
NRL Pays Record Dividend of Rs. 22.71 Crores to Government of Assam

Numaligarh Refinery Limited has paid an amount of Rs. 22.71 crores as dividend for the financial year 2006-07, to the Govt. of Assam, as the promoter holding 12.35% share in the Company. This dividend of Rs. 22.71 crores is 31.65 % higher than the previous year's dividend of Rs. 17.25 crores. The dividend cheque was formally handed over to Shri Tarun Gogoi, Hon'ble Chief Minister of Assam, by Shri B.K.Das, Managing Director NRL on 12-10-07 in presence of representatives of the Govt. of Assam and other senior officials of the Company.

19-09-07
Feedstock Supply Agreement Inked With BCPL

A feedstock supply agreement was signed between Brahmaputra Crackers and Polymers Ltd. (BCPL) and NRL at Dibrugarh on 19-09-07. BCPL is the joint venture company formed to implement the Rs. 5460 crores gas cracker project at Lepetkata in Dibrugarh District of Assam with 70% equity participation of GAIL along with equity stake of 10% each of NRL, Oil India Limited and Govt. of Assam. As per the agreement, NRL will supply 1,60,000.00 tonnes per annum of petrochemical grade naphtha to BCPL.

The other feedstock supply agreement which was signed was between BCPL and its other associate stake holder, Oil India Limited (OIL) for supply of 6 million metric standard cubic metres per day of Natural gas to BCPL.

The agreement signing functions were graced by Hon'ble Minister of State for Chemicals and fertilizers, Shri Bijoy Krishna Handique and Hon'ble Minister for Planning and Development, Govt of Assam, Shri Prithbi Majhi , Chairman GAIl. Chairman OIL and other senior executives of BCPL, NRL, GAIL, OIL, ONGC and EIL. NRL was represented by Director (Technical), Shri Dipak Chakravorty, Head (Marketing), Shri Gautam Mukherji and DGM (F&BD), Shri S.K. Barua.

14-09-07
NRL Achieves Record Throughput. Profit of Rs. 569 Crores Highest Ever

During 2006-2007, NRL recorded the highest ever throughput of 2.504 Million Metric Tonnes (MMT) and also registered the record profit after tax of Rs. 568.80 crores, the highest ever in the history of its operation. The 14th Annual General Meeting of Numaligarh Refinery Limited held in Hotel Brahmaputra Ashok, Guwahati on Friday, the 14th September, 2007 also declared highest ever dividend of to 32.33 % of post tax profit. The Meeting was presided over by Sri Ashok Sinha, Chairman, NRL, who is also the Chairman and Managing Director of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) and was attended by Sri B. K. Das, Managing Director and other Directors of NRL. The resolution of declaring a dividend of Rs. 2.50 per share for the year 2006-07 which is higher by 31.58% compared to the last year's dividend of Rs.1.90 per share, was adopted in the meeting. With this, the total dividend to be paid by NRL for the financial year 2006-07 to its stakeholders viz. M/s Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (61.65%), M/s Oil India Limited (26%), and Govt. of Assam (12.35%) amounts to Rs.183.91 crores. Hence, Govt. of Assam shall receive Rs. 22.71 crores as dividend for its equity in NRL. It is worthwhile to mention that during the year 2006-07, NRL also has contributed an amount of Rs. 310.01 crores to the Govt. of Assam Exchequer towards taxes and duties.

During the year, Numaligarh Refinery Limited surpassed all previous records and achieved creditable growth in almost all spheres of its activities. The sales turnover witnessed a growth of 36.25% to touch a level of Rs. 7930.32 crores compared to Rs. 5820.37 crores during the previous year. The profit after tax at Rs. 568.80 crores was also the highest achieved as against the previous highest of Rs. 448.93 crores achieved during 2005-06, registering a growth of 26.70%. The rise in profit compared to previous year was mainly due to higher capacity utilization and higher realization of prices. This was further supplemented by an improved product mix on account of commissioning of the Motor Spirit plant.

By optimizing operations and fine tuning business systems, the Refinery was able to process 2.504 MMT of crude during the year 2006-07 as against 2.133 MMT in the previous year which is the highest ever recorded since commissioning of the refinery in the year 2000. NRL's continual efforts in maximizing production of high value distillates has resulted in net distillate yield of 84.74 % wt., which is one of the highest in the country. The Refinery specific Energy Consumption for the entire year stood at 72.5 MBTU/BBL/NRGF, which has been the best achieved sofar. NRL has remained firm on its commitment towards continual development in Loss Control Management right from its inception and has been able to maintain its 'nil' records of Loss Time Accidents and major fire incidents during the year 2006-07. To further strengthen its system based management, the Company has been re-certified with ISO: 9001, ISO: 14001 & OHSAS: 18001. In its quest for environmental excellence and continual improvement, NRL has been pursuing a focused programme towards environment protection through well-defined objectives and has taken up several initiatives that are being implemented in a systematic manner. A significant highlight in Environment Management during 2006-07, is the achievement of 'zero' discharge of treated effluent from the 'Effluent Treatment Plant' inside the refinery to the outside environment since 1st October, 2006.

After establishing itself as a trustworthy brand in customer perception within a short span of its entry in the retail segment with its high end Retail outlets and customer centric services, the Company continues to move ahead with retail expansion plans across the entire country with special focus in the North-East. The tally of its commissioned Energy Stations has reached 74 sofar, out of which 42 are located in the North East region and the remaining in other parts of the country. It is noteworthy that NRL's Retail Outlet at Jorabat, commissioned in January 2006, has emerged as the highest selling outlet in the whole of Eastern Region. During the year 2006-07, the average MS and HSD sales from this retail outlet was 2083 KL per month. NRL continues to take utmost care in maintaining highest standard in respect of product quality and quantity and so far 7 retail outlets of NRL have already been certified by M/s Det Norske Veritas (DNV) under Q&Q protocol. The certification process is in progress for several other outlets.

In order to remain ahead of competition in this highly competitive market environment, NRL has identified a number of value added projects for improving its profit margin so as to achieve consolidation and growth. A Motor Spirit (MS) project taken up during the Xth Five Year Plan period was successfully completed in the year 2006-07 within the approved project cost of Rs 296.86 crores. The Plant has been producing MS conforming to BS-II and Euro-III grade since July 2006 and March 2007 respectively in line with the requirements of the 'Auto Fuel Policy' of the Government. Other important projects presently under various stages of implementation are Marketing Terminal Project at Siliguri, 12 Mega Watt Steam Turbine Generator (STG) Project and Diesel Quality Up-gradation Project.

The past year heralded the beginning of NRL's entry into joint ventures. NRL has equity participation in two important joint venture companies, namely, M/s Brahmaputra Cracker and Polymer Limited for implementing proposed Assam Gas Cracker Project at Lepetkata in Dibrugarh district and M/s DNP Limited for setting up proposed Natural Gas pipeline from Duliajan to Numaligarh.

NRL has been awarded the 1st prize of TERI Corporate Environment Excellence Award 2007 in recognition of its leadership efforts towards environment management and innovative initiatives amongst Corporates with turn over above Rs. 500 crores. NRL also has the distinction of achieving 'Green Tech Environment Excellence Award' for five consecutive years. Further, NRL is the recipient of third prize in the Oil & Gas Conservation Fortnight (OGCF) awards for 2006 and also 'Shrestha Suraksha Puraskar' (Second level) in the Manufacturing sector for the year 2006 by National Safety Council.

With a strong commitment towards socio-economic uplift of the region, NRL has initiated definitive measures for improving the lives of the people in the neighbouring areas through innovative and people friendly programmes. Presently, the Company's attention is focused on major thrust areas such as Agri-allied / Income Generation activities, Education, Infrastructure Development, Community Health and Promotion of Art, Sports, Literature and Culture. To gauge the public perception of its efforts in that direction, NRL carried out an independent Social Audit of its Community Development schemes, which clearly reflected that its efforts have brought positive benefits to its target groups.

13-08-07
NRL contributes Rs. 20 Lakhs to Chief Minister’s Relief Fund, Assam

As in the previous years, Numaligarh Refinery Limited has come forward with financial help for taking up various welfare works and relief operations by the State machinery. The Company has contributed an amount of Rs. 20.00 lakhs to the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund, Assam for the cause of victims of the devastating floods that has gripped the State. The cheque was formally handed over to Shri Tarun Gogoi, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Assam at his official residence at Khanapara, Guwahati by Shri B.K.Das Managing Director NRL on 13-08-07 in presence of other senior officials of the Company.

27-06-07
Duliajan-Numaligarh Pipeline Limited forges ahead

The first Board meeting of DNP Limited (Duliajan-Numaligarh Pipeline Limited) was held in the office of Numaligarh Refinery Limited at Guwahati on 27-06-07. The joint venture Company which was incorporated on 15th June 2007 has equity participation of Assam Gas Company Limited ( AGCL ) and Numaligarh Refinery Limited ( NRL) in the ratio 60 : 40. The maiden Board meeting was chaired by Shri P.C. Sharma, Chief Secretary to the Govt. of Assam who shall be heading the Company as its Chairman with MD AGCL Shri B.C.Sharma and Director (Technical), NRL Shri Dipak Chakravarty as the other Board members. AGCL Chairperson, Shri Amiya Gogoi and NRL MD Shri B . K . Das attended the meeting as special invitees.

Formed primarily to implement the Duliajan - Numaligarh Natural Gas Pipeline which shall transport 1.00 MMSCMD of Natural Gas from the oil fields of Oil India limited (OIL) and deliver the same at Numaligarh Refinery, the pipeline is slated to be commissioned by the end of 2008 at an approximate project cost of Rs.320 crores.

23-05-07
NRL bags TERI Corporate Environmental Excellence Award 2007

NRL has bagged the first prize of 6th TERI Corporate Award for Environmental excellence 2007 in the category of Corporates with turn over more than Rs. 500 crores The award is in recognition of the Company's leadership efforts towards Environment Management and innovative initiatives in that direction.

The coveted which is highly regarded in the Corporate world was handed over to NRL MD, Mr. B. K .Das by Hon'ble Union Finance Minister, Mr. P. Chidambaram at an award ceremony at New Delhi on 23-05-07 in presence of a galaxy of dignitaries from Corporate sector, Government, foreign missions, multilateral and bilateral agencies.

Instituted by TERI ( The Energy and Resources Insititute), this award recognizes excellence in Environment Management, thereby providing impetus to sustainable development and the ongoing process of environment management within Corporate circles.

17-05-07
NRL to Export Diesel to Bangladesh

NRL will export High Speed Diesel to the neighbouring country of Bangladesh via waterway routes. A historic agreement to this effect was signed on 17-05-07 at the Bangladesh capital of Dhaka between NRL's parent Company, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited and Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation Limited. The agreement was signed by Mr. S. Radhakrishnan, Director ( Marketing ) of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited and a senior official of Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation Limited.

NRL would initially export 1,20,000 metric tonnes of High Speed Diesel annually from June 2007.The initial period of contract of Delivery is from June to December 2007 which shall be renewed thereafter. The Diesel will be loaded in barges from Silghat in Golaghat District of Assam and shall be delivered at Baghabari in Northern Bangladesh and the process would take around 7 days. This will lead to enhanced economic activity on water routes and open up new opportunities.

06-05-07
NRL wins National Safety Council of India Safety Awards 2006

NRL has bagged the second level Award in the Manufacturing sector namely, 'Shrestha Suraksha Puraskar' for the year 2006 by the National Safety Council, an apex autonomous body at the National level for developing and leading the voluntary movement on safety, health and environment set up by the Ministry of labour, Govt. of India on 4th March, 1966.

Started in 1998, this award is given for achieving outstanding Occupational safety and health performance and implementing effective management system and procedures. The achievement bears eloquent testimony to the excellent corporate safety and health culture of NRL.

NRL is one of the safest refineries in operation in the country. Right from inception, it has shown consistent good results on the safety front by adopting the best practices in safety management. Recently in the month of February 2007, it attained a rare milestone in the oil industry for having achieved continuous accident free man hours for the last 5 years.

31-03-07
First Batch of Euro III MS Despatched

NRL dispatched the first batch of Euro-III Motor Spirit by rail to BPCL, Panki, a location in Southern UP near Kanpur. The first dispatch was flagged off ceremonially by Shri Dipak Chakravarty, Director (Technical) at 0330 hours on 31.03.2007.

The inaugural dispatch is the first lot of Euro III grade MS produced in the 225 TMTPA capacity MS plant which has already been producing BS II grade MS since July 2006. The low sulphur Euro- III MS with an octane No of 91 compared to the BS II grade MS having Octane Value 88 is considered very environment friendly meeting the laid down stipulations by the Government.

The MS project was envisioned in line with improved fuel norms (Euro-II and III) as per auto fuel policy of the Govt. of India and the growing demand for petroleum products in the north-eastern states. Monitored by Toyo India Engineering Ltd as Project Management Consultant (PMC) and Axens, France, as process licensor, comprises a Naphtha Hydro-treating Unit (NHTU) of 271 TMTPA capacity, a Catalytic Reforming Unit (CRU) of 66.74 TMTPA and an Isomerisation Unit (ISOM) of 55.21 TMTPA. At full capacity, the product slate will include 184.8 TMTPA of EURO-III MS, 21.2 TMTPA of LPG, 1.46 TMTPA of Hydrogen and 17.03 TMTPA of Fuel Gas. The 225 TMTPA Motor Spirit project was mechanically completed in the month of May 2006. The project has been commissioned in two phases. The Naphtha Hydrotreating unit (NHU) and the Catalytic Reforming Unit (CRU) were commissioned in June 2006 and July 2006. With the commissioning of the Isomerisation unit, production of MS of Euro-III specification has commenced from the month if March 2007. The MS project was envisaged primarily to increase the profitability of NRL through increased sales of MS, LPG and value addition to the surplus Naphtha capacity. Moreover, the enhanced production of Hydrogen is expected to cater to the future necessity of HSD upgradation.

28-03-07
NRL's Adabari Energy Station Opens Sales

NRL's Retail outlet at Adabari, strategically located just opposite the busy Adabari bus terminus was formally inaugurated today to mark commencement of sales . This is the 3rd Retail outlet of NRL in Guwahati city after Joynagar outlet near 6th mile and the Zoo road outlet in the heart of the city, which have already captured an enviable market share and earned a loyal fleet of customers in a short time. The outlet shall be run by Mr. Jayanta Choudhury.

Delightful ambience, excellent products and services along with world class facilities , NRL's Adabari Energy Station has it all. Apart from a distinct visual identity, facilities like an automatic head up display where the customer shall can view the fuelling of his car seated within the comfort of his car, automated air inflator where the tyre pressure is filled depending on the model of the car with no manual intervention, automated bill printing for error free billing et al is what sets it apart from conventional Retail outlets. Not only that, the customers can catch on with their shopping while his car is being refueled at the ' Quick Shoppe' located inside the premises and a 'Quick Lube' with selling 'MAK' lubricants off the shelf. 'Quick' is a prefix used for allied services available at the Retail outlets which denotes promptness and efficiency. NRL's Energy Stations' are no less than a treat for the citizens of Guwahati who are accustomed to good living what with international brands, products and services just at their doorsteps.

NRL 'Energy Stations' have already created a niche market in the North east within a couple of years of Company's venturing out to retail marketing.

01-03-2007
NRL & AGCL sign Joint Venture Agreement for Implementation of Natural Gas Pipeline

The new Joint Venture Company shall be incorporated within this month, wherein the equity stake of AGCL & NRL will be in the ratio of 60:40. The 16 inch 200 KM pipeline having an approximate cost of Rs.320 Crores is likely to be commissioned by March, 2008. The pipeline will initially transport 1.00 MMSCMD of Natural Gas to deliver the same at a pressure of 32 kg/cm2 at Numaligarh Refinery. This pipeline can be subsequently extended up to Guwahati and beyond for distribution of City Gas and CNG etc. in various parts of the region. This pipeline can be considered as the first step towards building up of the Super Energy Highway and will lay the foundation for development of new gas based industries in the entire North East India.

19-02-07
Zero Discharge of Treated Effluent Achieved

NRL has achieved zero discharge of its treated effluent, which means even the otherwise safe treated effluent which is generated within the Refinery is no longer discharged outside the Refinery premises. This has been possible due to use of superior technology as well as the untiring efforts of the Management and technical personnel of the Company in that direction.

The Effluent treatment Plant (ETP) at NRL is equipped with modern and latest treatment facilities including chemical, biological and tertiary treatment facilities. The ETP includes a three-stage oil recovery system from the wastewater generated during refinery operations and high efficiency centrifuge for recovering oil from the oily sludge. Tertiary treatment is done by using pressure sand filters as well as activated carbon filters. Because of the latest technology used in the ETP, quality of treated effluent coming out of ETP is very good, which means that the pollutant levels are very less making it suitable for use for various other purposes. The treated effluent is used as filter backwash in the Cooling Tower, an integrated unit which forms part of the Refinery operations. It is also used for gardening inside the Refinery premises and for watering the green belt surrounding the Refinery. Well maintained gardens at various locations inside the Refinery premises is a common sight and inter-unit competitions for best housekeeping of respective plants are often held to encourage such practices. The green belt surrounding the Refinery comprises of 70 hectares of land, which, other than retaining and enhancing the greenery, renders a perfect natural barrier to the industrial noise and minor air pollutants from reaching the immediate surroundings, both human population and the rich flora and fauna.To facilitate the above process of using the treated effluent in various other places within the Refinery, around 1.5 kms of 8 inches pipeline has been laid.

During 2006 a major modification project, which included a high capacity pump along with all necessary pipings and suitable control systems including the chlorine dosing system was put in place. Due to the above modification works, the earlier practice of supplying water to the fire water network within the Refinery premises using fresh river water from the adjoining Kaliyani River has been replaced by using chlorinated treated effluent, thereby reducing the treated effluent discharge to zero level.

It may be mentioned that right from its inception more than a decade ago, NRL has a well defined Environment management system under which it has been pursuing a focused programme towards environmental protection by adopting safe and eco-friendly technologies, sound design and engineering practices.

13-02-07

MoU signed with BPCL

Performance Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) setting NRL's parameters and targets related to business operations for the year 2007-08 was signed by NRL with it's holding Company BPCL on 13th February, 2007 at Mumbai. MD NRL, Mr. B. K.Das signed the MoU on behalf of NRL while the BPCL side was represented by Director ( HR), BPCL, Mr. S. Narayan who signed the MoU on behalf of CMD, BPCL Mr. Ashok Sinha. Senior officials of both the Companies were present on the occasion.

18-12-06

NRL was declared as one of the proud winners of the prestigious Oil and Gas Conservation Fortnight (OGCF) awards 2006 for attaining excellence in the field of Energy Conservation. The coveted award which is instituted by the Centre for High Technology (CHT) under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas was received by Shri B K Das, Managing Director, NRL from the Hon'ble Minister of State for Petroleum & Natural Gas Shri Dinsha Patel in the presence of Mr. Anil Razdan, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas at a function held in the capital on 13th December 2006. NRL was adjudged the 3rd prize winner for its exemplary feat in achieving insulation effectiveness of furnace / boiler by a survey conducted simultaneously by CHT at all Indian refineries, including private refineries, during January, 2006.

27-11-06
NRL bags Oil Industry Safety Award

NRL has bagged the second prize in the ‘Refineries’ Category of the prestigious Oil Industry Safety Awards for the year 2005-06 instituted by the Oil Industry Safety Directorate( OISD) under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural gas. The award which carries a trophy and a citation was given away by Honourable Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas at a glittering ceremony at Mumbai recently to Managing Director NRL, Mr. B.K.Das in presence of other senior officials of the Company. The award which is held in very high esteem by the Oil Industry in India, assumes utmost significance for NRL since it gives due recognition to its sustained efforts to excel in Safety performance.

Since commissioning of the Refinery in the year 2000, NRL has been maintaining very high standards of safety performance and has adopted the best practices in Safety Management Systems. It has completed about 4 ½ years without any fatal accident or loss time accident. Due to its Safety Systems, the company has been awarded the International Safety Rating System(ISRS) level-9 in the year 2000 by M/s DNV, which establishes NRL as one of the safest Refineries in operation in the world.

11-11-06
Vigilance Awareness Week observance at NRL

The Vigilance Awareness Week was observed at Numaligarh Refinery Limited with administering oath on 6th November 2006 at the Administrative Building lobby at Numaligarh. The pledge of integrity was administered in English by Sri Pallab Bhattacharyya IPS, Chief Vigilance Officer and in Hindi by Shri H N Choudhary, DGM (In-charge Refinery) which was attended by Sri BK Das Managing Director and all other senior officers of the Company. The integrity pledge was also taken by employees of Numaligarh Refinery Limited at other locations in Guwahati, Kolkata, Delhi and Siliguri offices.

An awareness session on Vigilance was held with all the employees & staff members of Numaligarh Refinery Marketing Terminal. Different preventive vigilance measures required to be followed in their day to day dealings with the customers were discussed at length and a number of important suggestions emerged in course of the deliberation. In order to emphasize more on efficiency and transparency in the customer-oriented programmes, discussion was held with a large number of contractors of the Company. The complaint handling policy of the organization to redress any of their grievances was also informed to the participants.

As part of observance of the week, an interactive session was held with the Retail Outlet Dealers of the North-East of NRL which was organized by the Marketing Function in collaboration with the Vigilance Department. In the meeting Sri Naba Kumar Sarma Senior Manager (Vigilance), Sri Anup Kumar Baruah Manager (Marketing) and Sri P K Khaund Chief Manager (Marketing Coordination) deliberated on the Marketing Discipline Guidelines, recently introduced Marker system to detect adulteration in petroleum products and man management in Retail Outlets to get maximum output to the satisfaction of customers. In the interacting session the complaint handling procedure of the Company and measures to bring about transparency in the day to day dealings were also informed to the gathering and suggestions of the Dealers were noted for further action.

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14-10-06
NUMALIGARH REFINERY LIMITED PAYS RECORD DIVIDEND OF Rs. 17.25 CRORES TO GOVERNMENT OF ASSAM

Numaligarh Refinery Limited has paid an amount of Rs. 17.25 crores as dividend for the financial year 2005-06, to the Govt. of Assam, as the promoter holding 12.35% share in the Company. This dividend of Rs. 17.25 crores is 11.72 % higher than the previous year’s dividend of Rs. 15.44 crores. The dividend cheque was formally handed over to Shri Tarun Gogoi, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Assam, by Shri B.K.Das, Managing Director NRL on 13-10-06 in presence of representatives of the Govt. of Assam and officials of the Company.

The payment of dividend equivalent to 31% post tax profit to the shareholders was approved in the Company’s 13th Annual General Meeting held on 22-09-06 at Guwahati. It would be relevant to mention that during the financial year 2005-06, NRL achieved its best ever financial results since commencement of its commercial operations in the year 2000. The Company attained an all time high gross turnover of Rs. 5,820 crores registering a growth of 35 % over the previous year. Profit after tax of Rs. 449 crores achieved during the year was also the highest ever as against Rs.409 crores in the previous year, thereby registering a growth of almost 10%. The increase in revenue during the year enabled the Company to contribute a handsome amount of Rs. 226.12 crores to the Govt. of Assam, in the form of taxes and duties.

25-09-06
NRL's ZOO ROAD 'ENERGY STATION' OPENS SALES

NRL's Zoo Road' Energy Station' opened sales on a high note with the inauguration of the outlet in the heart of the city today in presence of an august gathering. In consonance with its logo theme "Energy in motion", NRL has named its retail outlets as "Energy stations". This is the second NRL outlet in the city, the first being the Joynagar outlet which commenced sales from April-2005 .

Moments after the inauguration ceremony saw a rush of vehicles eager to get a glimpse of the new look outlet, unique in more ways than one. The Outlet shall be run by Ms. Nandini Talukdar, an enterprising lady entrepreneur. Other than the attractive colour schemes which provides a visual treat for the customers, the outlet shall provide a number of customer friendly facilities of international standards to the denizens of Guwahati and call for a happy fuelling experience. Be it the multi-product dispensing unit to fuel the vehicle, a sleek unit in front having TV monitor and LED display of the quantity, price and amount or a TV monitor exhibiting entertainments and advertisements which automatically switches on to unveil the fuelling activities of the dispensing boy behind the car, the Retail Outlet has it all. The 'Head up display' facility at the outlets provides comfort to the customers as they can view the fuel being dispensed into their tanks in a monitoring screen without getting down from the car. The customers would no more have the fear of the fuel tank cover not being put back after refuelling, as fuelling activity would be visible in the head up display screen. Once fuel delivery is complete, the "point of sales terminal" automatically prints out the cash memo, thereby ensuring quick and faultless billing.

Not only this, the 'Quick Shoppe', a multi-utility departmental store set up adjacent to the dispensing units is bound to add on to a joyful shopping experience with customers having an option to chill out while their vehicles are being fuelled as they shop in the posh ambience of the departmental store offering varied products starting from cosmetics to groceries, chocolate to confectionaries, toiletries and 'other items of daily use. The 'Quick Lube' situated adjacent to the 'Quick Shoppe'offers a variety of premium quality MAK lubricants from which the customers can pick and choose. As part of its efforts to create a distinct identity in Petroleum retailing, NRL has developed the new look 'Energy Stations'. NRL's composite marketing strategy was developed as more customer centric and is sensitive to rising customer expectations. The first of NRL Energy Stations was opened on February - 2005 at Kaziranga and the Company has since set up a total of 59 outlets in the country with 36 in the North East alone. It may be mentioned here that Numaligarh Refinery which was commissioned in the year 2000 has been supplying high quality environment friendly fuels to far off strategic markets like in the other parts of the country after meeting the full requirement of North East. This refinery is already producing Euro-II and Euro-III grades of fuels which has been possible due to its secondary processing through Hydrocracker unit. The high end Outlets being put up by NRL aims to provide the best in terms of quality of products as well as services.

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AGM PRESS RELEASE
22-09-06
NRL DECLARES 31 % POST TAX PROFIT AS DIVIDEND FOR 2005-06, GOVT. OF ASSAM TO GET RS. 17.25 CRORES AS DIVIDEND

The 13th Annual General Meeting of Numaligarh Refinery Limited was held in Hotel Brahmaputra Ashok, Guwahati on Friday, the 22nd September, 2006. The Meeting was presided over by Chairman, NRL, Sri Ashok Sinha, who is also the Chairman and Managing Director of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited. The resolution of declaring 31 % post tax profit as dividend was adopted in the AGM. With this, NRL shall contribute Rs. 17.25 crores as dividend to the state exchequer for the year 2005-06.
The year 2005-06 saw NRL achieving its best ever financial results since commencement of its commercial operations in the year 2000. The Company attained an all time high gross turnover of Rs. 5,820 crores registering a growth of 35 % over the previous year. Profit after tax of Rs. 449 crores achieved during the year was also the highest ever as against Rs.409 crores in the previous year, thereby registering a healthy growth of almost 10%. The company has good reasons to cheer about the impressive results, coming at a time of spiraling international crude prices and tightening margins. The higher level of profit is attributable to a combination of positive factors like growth in turnover due to higher realization of price, improved product mix, optimization of operations, stringent cost control measures and savings in interest cost .

By optimizing operations and fine tuning business systems, the refinery was able to process 2.13 million metric tonnes of crude and evacuate 1.95 million metric tonnes of products during the year 2005-06. NRL’s continual efforts in maximizing production of high value distillates has resulted in net distillate yield of 85.1% wt., which was one of the highest in the country.

A major milestone achieved in the current year is the successful completion of the Rs. 297 crores Motor Spirit Project which will enable NRL to produce 185 thousand metric tonnes of Motor Spirit annually and enhance the production of LPG by about 21 TPA, thereby providing value addition.

NRL’s venture into the retail distribution segment gained further momentum during the year with the tally of commissioned retail outlets, aptly christened as “Energy Stations”, reaching 59 of which 36 are in the North East region and the remaining in other parts of the country. Sales from these outlets have been quite encouraging and the Company has been able to set itself apart as a unique brand, earning a loyal set of customers in the process. It is noteworthy that one of the newly commissioned energy stations at Jorabat in Meghalaya (near Guwahati) was the highest selling outlet in the whole of Eastern Region during April-August’ 06 with a combined MS/HSD sales volume of 1869 KLPM. NRL has now made a decent presence in retailing of MS/HSD in the North Eastern Region and captured a market share of 8.5% in the region, which is likely to increase progressively. Retail Visual Identity of NRL outlets have made quite an impact in the national scenario and the Company has been conferred the POPAI OMA ( Point of Purchase Advertising International Outstanding Merchandise Achievement) Silver award during 2006 under the category “Automobile Permanent” for the distinctive style and aesthetics of its Retail outlets. Moreover, internationally acclaimed certifying agency, M/s DNV has been engaged for Quality and Quantity certification of the commissioned Retail Outlets and they have already certified two Retail Outlets in the meantime.

NRL’s initiative for setting up of a tap off point marketing terminal at Hajo near Guwahati as an offshoot of the Numaligarh-Siliguri Product pipeline, presently under construction by Oil India Limited is likely to generate substantial business activity in Lower Assam. The proposed marketing terminal shall be used mainly for distribution of products to the markets located in lower Assam districts and in Meghalaya and shall also assist in river transport of NRL products to Bangladesh, as and when the efforts to enter Bangladesh market fructify.

As NRL moved forward in pursuit of organizational excellence, awards, accolades and recognition have come by from National and International bodies alike. The Greentech Safety Gold Award in Petroleum Refinery Sector for the Year 2006 in recognition of outstanding performance in the field of Health & Safety, the Greentech Environment Excellence Award in the field of Environment Management , “Award for Excellence”(1st prize) by Petroleum Conservation and Research Association (PCRA) in the Medium Project Category for the year 2004-05 , ‘Jawaharlal Nehru Centenary Award’ for Energy efficiency for the year 2004-05 and the Oil Industry Safety Award in the ‘Refineries’ Category were bagged by NRL during the year.

While the company set it’s sights on achieving new milestones, it has never faltered in discharging its corporate social responsibility. It has taken a proactive role in promoting and executing schemes for socio - economic development of the region especially in the vicinity of the refinery by taking substantive strides for the benefit of the local populace, particularly in the areas of education, clean drinking water and sanitation and development of infrastructure.

04-08-06
MR. DIPAK CHAKRAVARTY TAKES OVER AS DIRECTOR ( TECHNICAL)

Mr. Dipak Chakravarty has taken over as Director ( Technical ) of Numaligarh Refinery Limited with effect from 4th August, 2006. A business focused and result oriented professional with demonstrated capabilities in petroleum refining sector, Mr. Chakravarty is a first Class first Gold medalist in Bachelor of Engineering (Chemical) of the 1976 batch of Assam Engineering College, Guwahati and has completed his post graduation in Chemical Engineering from North Western University, Evanston, Illinois, USA in the year 1981. Prior to his appointment as Director(Technical) in NRL, he has held various key positions in NRL, the last one being as GM(Production) in charge of overall Refinery Management. He has experience and in-depth knowledge in major functions of the Refinery such as Corporate Planning, Production, Process and Operations and has tremendous amount of contribution in building up of Numaligarh Refinery from its nascent stage till its commissioning in the year 1999 and ensuring smooth operations thereafter.

He has also worked in Indian Oil Corporation Limited (Assam Oil Division), the erstwhile Assam Oil company and NEITCO (North Eastern Industrial & Technical Consultancy Organisation). Apart from being a hardcore technocrat, he is a proficient tabla player and has diverse interest and hobbies like music, traveling and social activities. His family comprises of his wife, Mrs. Madhumita Chakravarty who is a teacher , a son and a daughter who are both pursuing their studies.

03-08-06
QUALITY AND QUANTITY CERTIFICATION OF NRL OUTLETS

After putting up high end customer friendly Retail Outlets (Petrol Pump) with state-of-the-art facilities and branding them as “Energy Stations”, NRL has now set a very high standard to be followed in operation of their Energy Stations. NRL had engaged an internationally reputed agency, M/s. Det Norske Veritas AS (DNV) of Netherlands, to develop a suitable protocol for certification of NRL Energy Stations for Quality, Quantity, Infrastructure Facilities, Safety and Service Standards. Under this “Q&Q protocol”, DNV will certify the NRL Energy Stations against over 100 different elements of Petrol Pump operation. DNV will carry out surprise checks of NRL Energy Stations and draw samples for testing independently. Besides physical operation of the outlets including maintenance of Quality and Quantity etc., the Q&Q protocol also covers the areas of service standards and customer feed back system. By developing an elaborate and strict Q&Q protocol, involving periodic and surprise inspections by a third party of international repute like, DNV, for operation of its Energy Stations having infrastructure facilities of international standard, NRL intends to give a happy fueling experience to its valued customers which the customers rightfully deserve.

Two NRL Energy Stations have already been certified under this Q&Q protocol by DNV and these are located at Jayanagar in Guwahati (6th mile) and “Between Kaziranga and Bokakhat on NH-37”. NRL has awarded the job to DNV for certification of all its operating Energy Stations under this Q&Q protocol.

With its quality and service standards, NRL Energy Stations have already made an impact in the petroleum retail marketing, particularly in the North-Eastern states of Assam, Meghalaya and Manipur. NRL Energy Station at Jorabat in Meghalaya became the highest selling Retail Outlet in the Eastern Region in March 2006 with a sales figure of 2236 KL and has retain this position even in the first quarter of 2006-07 with a sales figure of 1903 KL per month. More and more NRL Energy Stations are being put up with adequate infrastructure and high service standards.
During the financial year 2005-06, NRL has put up 48 Energy Stations in the country out of which 29 are in North-East. This brings the total number of NRL Energy Stations to 58 as on 01.04.2006, out of which 36 are in North-East.

03-07-06
Rs. 70 CRORE MARKETING TERMINAL OF NRL AT HAJO

Government of Assam had recently given its formal nod for transfer of more than 66 bighas of state owned land to NRL at Hajo in the outskirts of Guwahati for setting up of a tap off point Marketing terminal. NRL authorities have taken physical possession of the land today. The terminal shall serve to tap off NRL white oil products such as High Speed Diesel and Motor Spirit from its proposed 660 km product pipeline from Numaligarh en-route to Siliguri and shall serve as a major loading point for tank lorries for supply of NRL products to its retail outlets situated in the vicinity of Guwahati as well as other locations in lower Asom and Meghalaya. It may be mentioned here that NRL is moving ahead with ambitious plans to commission 125 retails outlets in the North East Region within the next two years. The utility of the tap off point shall continue to grow with expansion of NRL’s retail network, with the terminal serving as a major marketing hub for NRL products. Engineers India Limited has already been engaged as consultant for preliminary studies for the purpose of setting up of the terminal facilities at Hajo. Estimated cost of construction of facilities at tap off point shall be around Rs. 60-70 crores and the expected volume of products that shall be marketed though this terminal shall be at least 500 TMT annually. The utility of the tap off point shall increase many fold, with expansion of NRL’s Retail network.

NRL also has plans to export Diesel to Bangladesh via river route. This tap off point shall increase the viability of such export with products being transported by barges through the Brahmaputra via Dhubri into the neighbouring country of Bangladesh. Activities for lining up an agency for construction of a Jetty at the terminal point are already underway.

It may be mentioned that the 3 MMT per annum Numaligarh Refinery has been able to operate at a capacity of around 2 MMT per annum only due to evacuation problems faced by it. To remain viable, NRL has to market 85% of its products outside the North East due to inadequate demand within the North East, which is limited to 1.8 MMTPA against a total refining capacity of 7 MMTPA of all the 4 Assam Refineries put together.

With timely product evacuation through the proposed product pipeline between Numaligarh and Siliguri, NRL shall be able to attain 100 % capacity utilization which shall in turn increase the viability of the refinery and shall also lead to refining a larger quantity of crude within the state. This shall not only make NRL sustainable, but also allow it to invest its profits for supporting expansion projects for value addition, thereby leading to more wealth creation within the state.

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29-06-06
PRESS RELEASE FOR PRESS MEET HELD AT NUMALIGARH

Numaligarh Refinery Limited, which has come into existence as a result of the Historic Assam Accord signed in the year 1985 has a capacity to process 3 MMT of crude per year. However, on an average, it has been able to process only about 2 MMT of crude per year due to constraints faced by it in evacuation of its products. About 85 % of NRL’s products have to be marketed outside the North-East, since demand for petroleum products in the North East is only around 1.8 MMT per year against total refining capacity of 7 MMT of all the 4 Assam refineries put together.

In the financial year 2005-06, the Refinery could process 2.13 MT of crude, evacuate 1.95 MMT of products and earn a reasonable amount of profit in the process. The net distillate yield during the year was maintained at a level of over 85% wt , which was one of the highest in the country. During the year, the Refinery produced around 960 TMT of Bharat Stage II grade HSD ( High Speed Diesel) and around 360 TMT of Euro III grade HSD for supply to metro cities. Production of ATF( Aviation Turbine fuel) and MS( Motor Spirit) stood at around 83 TMT and 91 TMT respectively.

Since commissioning, NRL has been maintaining very high standards of safety performance. It has completed about 4 ½ years without loss time accident. Due to its safety systems, the company has been awarded the International Safety Rating System(ISRS) level-9 by M/s DNV Netherlands, which establishes NRL as one of the safest Refineries in operation in the world.

Conscious efforts have been made by NRL at every stage to preserve the environment complying with statutory norms prescribed by concerned authorities. Besides normal pollution abatement measures, specific steps have been taken to ensure that there is no adverse impact on the nearby areas. Continuous air monitoring is carried out at many locations in and around the vicinity of the Refinery and at Kaziranga in order to ensure that strict control of ambient air in and around the vicinity of the area is maintained, so that the flaura and the fauna is not disturbed.

NRL bagged many awards last year like the Jawaharlal Nehru Centenary Award for Energy Efficiency, the Green Tech Gold Environment Excellence award, the Greentech Silver Safety award, the POPAI OMA Silver award for Retail Outlet design, Petroleum Conservation Research Association award for excellence in medium project Category for Energy Conservation.

With an objective of value addition, the company is moving ahead with ambitious plans for the future. The MS Project of the Refinery for production of 185 TMT of Euro III grade Motor Spirit is presently under commissioning. Revamp study of the Hydrocracker Unit (HCU) of the Refinery for production of Euro III grade High speed Diesel at 100% crude throughput capacity is in progress. Presently, capacity utilization of HCU has been limited to 80 %. While producing Euro III HSD, there are also plans to set up a naphtha splitter unit for supply of petrochemical grade Naphtha to the proposed Gas Cracker Project of Assam, where NRL shall hold 10 % equity.

On the marketing front, the tally of commissioned Retail outlets stands at 59 with 36 in the North East Region. The sales from these outlets have been quite encouraging. NRL has already achieved per Retail outlet throughput of 311 KL per month against all India Industry Average of 130 KL per month. It is note worthy to mention that in the month of March’06, one of NRL’s newly commissioned Retail outlets at Jorabat achieved combined MS/HSD sales volume of 2236 KL, the highest in the Eastern Region. NRL is moving ahead with ambitious plans to commission 125 outlets in the North East within the next 2 years. The company has also made headway with its plans to export HSD to the neighbouring country of Bangladesh.

Construction of product pipeline from Numaligarh to Siliguri by Oil India Limited is going on and is expected to be completed within 2007. The pipeline shall enable NRL to transport 1.72 MMT of white oil products per year. With this, the severe bottlenecks faced by NRL in evacuation of its products is expected to be over. Product distribution through roadways by way of tank lorries shall not only continue but shall increase substantially with NRL’s initiative to expand its retail network within the North East. Also, rail loading of products for various North East locations will continue from Numaligarh.

Right from its inception, NRL has put great emphasis in discharging its duties as a socially responsible corporate. NRL is conscious of the fact that being the Assam Accord Refinery, it has to fulfill the hopes and aspirations of the people of the state. NRL’s Community development initiatives are carefully planned and executed so that maximum number of people from the nearby areas benefit from our schemes. Besides dispensing relief, NRL focuses on capability development of the beneficiaries on various aspects like income generating activities, education, community health, infrastructure and a multitude of social activities.

06-05-06
NUMALIGARH REFINERY RIDES HIGH ON GOOD FINANCIAL RESULTS

The annual accounts of Numaligarh Refinery Limited for the financial year 2005-06 were adopted in the meeting of its Board of Directors on 28th April 2006 at Mumbai. The Company posted a record sales turnover of Rs. 5820 crores registering a growth of 35 % over the previous year’s turnover of Rs 4299 crores. Net profit rose by almost 10 % to Rs. 449 crores from the previous year’s level of Rs 409 crores. During the year, the refinery processed 2132.8 TMT of crude with a high distillate yield of 85.06 % and evacuated 1948.15 TMT of products. The Company has reasons to cheer its impressive performance coming at a time when Oil PSUs are reeling under the burden of spiraling international prices of crude oil and subsidies on petroleum products.
NRL’s foray into the retail distribution segment gathered momentum during FY 2005-06 with the tally of commissioned retail outlets, aptly christened as “Energy Stations”, reaching 58 by the year-end of which 36 are in the North East region and the remaining in other parts of the country. Sales from these outlets have been quite encouraging and the Company has been able to set itself apart as a unique brand, earning a loyal set of customers in the process. The Company has also made some headway in its efforts to export diesel to the neighbouring country of Bangladesh with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation Ltd in the month of February 2006.

While NRL moved forward to achieve new milestones, it has never faltered in discharging its corporate social responsibility. It has taken a proactive role in promoting and executing schemes for socio - economic development of the region especially in the vicinity of the refinery by taking substantive strides for the benefit of the local populace. It has contributed significantly in sponsoring agri-allied schemes for self-employment of the local unemployed youth. It has made conscious efforts to spread the light of education in the nearby areas by renovating schools and colleges and building educational facilities. The initiatives to improve infrastructure in the nearby areas has extended beyond the domain of building roads and bridges and has had a definitive impact in improving the quality of life in the neighboring areas. Community health and promotion of arts, sports and culture are other aspects that assume priority in the Company’s agenda for community development.

22-04-06
NRL DAY CELEBRATED

NRL observed its 13th Foundation Day in a befitting manner. Functions marking the occasion were held in the Refinery and other locations of the company like Guwahati, New Delhi and Kolkata.

At the function held at NRL’s Registered office at Guwahati, all the employees were administered the NRL day pledge in English, Hindi and Assamese. Managing Director, Mr. B.K.Das in his address appraised the employees about the performance of the company in the year gone by, status of ongoing projects and future plans to move ahead . He also asked the employees to reiterate their commitment to the organization with renewed vigor and prepare themselves to face the challenges that lay ahead in this fiercely volatile and competitive market scenario. It was equally important, he said that the employees remain undeterred in fulfilling their social responsibility by extending their horizons beyond their work schedule in order to bring about a positive change in the society to which they belong.