MANGALURU: The problems faced by Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL) by way of ground soil erosion following heavy rains in August this year have been resolved and all operations were now smooth, company managing director M Venkatesh said on Saturday.
Addressing reporters here, he said the MRPL refinery complex had faced the soil erosion due to the intense rainfall during the first and second week of August, affecting the foundation of one of the pipe racks in phase 3.
Immediate shutdown of the entire phase 3 complex was done as safety measure during the third week of August. All emergency measures were taken on war-footing to arrest any significant damage to pipe racks.
After ensuring the safety of the pipe rack through rectification work, the phase 3 refinery complex was commissioned again during the second week of September. He said the entire refinery complex was running normally at peak capacities since then.
The crude oil supplies to MRPL were not affected due to the recent attack on Saudi oil facilities and the operations were sustained normally.
Venkatesh said MRPL has been contributing to the social development of the region through its unstinting efforts under its corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. Our maximum focus is towards Dakshina Kannada and Udupi district. Our CSR spending is over Rs 50 crore for 2019-20," he said.
MRPL has contributed to Rs 5 crore to the chief minister's calamity relief fund for flood victims.
The company is also contributing Rs 1 crore to the district administration for flood relief programmes.
The company has undertaken Swacchatha Hi Seva programmes successfully by holding various awareness programmes and cleanliness drives.
A seawater desalination project with a capacity of 70 MLD (Million Litres per Day) is on track and its mechanical completion would be met by the end of August 2020.
However, for the summer period from March 2020 to June 2020, MRPL would attempt hiring containerised desalination units, he said.
MRPL was also targeting to increase the use of treated municipal sewage from the present 2.5 million gallons per day to at least 4 MGD in the immediate future and later on to 6 MGD by working closely with Mangalore Special Economic Zone Limited (MSEZL) and Mangaluru city corporation.