Mangaluru: Following the mandatory order for oil-marketing companies to supply BS VI grade Motor Spirit (MS) and High-Speed Diesel (HSD) across the country from April 1, 2020, MRPL has commenced the production of these fluids (BS stands for Bharat Stage emission standard) and will start supplying it to the Mangaluru – Bengaluru pipeline by the end of November 2019.
MRPL Managing Director M Venkatesh told media persons here on Saturday, October 5 that MRPL has started producing BS VI grade HSD and MS from the refinery process units with the aim of supplying it to the Mangaluru-Bengaluru pipeline by the end of November itself. “As the Petroleum Ministry is committed to providing BS-VI petroleum products by April 2020, MRPL will be coming out with BS-VI standard diesel and petrol by March 2020, a month ahead of its scheduled date of implementation”, he said.
Mentioning the benefits of VI-grade fuel, Venkatesh said that the use of VI-grade petrol and diesel would bring down vehicular pollution.
Meanwhile, Venkatesh clarified that MRPL has not been affected by the recent attack on Saudi Aramco and the supply of crude oil from Saudi Arabia was unaffected.
CSR spending of MRPL is Rs 50 crore for 2019-20
Venkatesh also informed that MRPL has been contributing to the social development of the region through its corporate social responsibility initiatives. “Our maximum focus is towards the Dakshina Kannada and Udupi district. Our CSR spending is over Rs 50 crore for 2019-20. MRPL has contributed Rs 5 crores to the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund. Furthermore, we are contributing Rs 1 crore to the district relief fund. MRPL has successfully adopted the Swacchatha Hi Seva programme by undertaking various awareness programmes and cleanliness drives directed at the harmful effects of utilising single-use plastics,” he said.
Sea-water desalination project to be completed by Aug 2020
Venkatesh said that the construction of a sea-water desalination project (with a capacity of 70 MLD) is on track and the scheduled timelines, for attaining mechanical completion by the end of August 2020, is going to be met. “However, for the summer season (between March 2020 to June 2020) MRPL is attempting to hire containerised desalination units,” he added.
Refinery Director M Vinay Kumar and GGM Sanjay Verma were present.
