23-06-08 Oil & Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC), India's biggest explorer, scrapped a plan to build a refinery and a petrochemicals unit in southern India, a 220 bn-rupee ($ 5.1 bn) project for which it was seeking overseas investors. The company and unit Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals "decided to withdraw'' from the two projects at Kakinada, in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, New Delhi-based ONGC said.
"This is our final decision,'' A.K. Balyan, director for business development, said. ONGC was in discussions with the provincial Andhra Pradesh government to set up the units since 2005, Balyan said.

ONGC sought overseas investors for the refinery and petrochemicals project at Kakinada, Chairman R.S. Sharma said in July last year. The company would set up a 15 mm-ton refinery to export petroleum products including gasoline, diesel and naphtha, Sharma had said.
The company will build 15 mm tons of new refining capacity near its existing 9.69 mm-ton refinery in Mangalore, Balyan said, reiteratingplans announced earlier.

ONGC would have owned 46 % in the Kakinada Refinery & Petrochemicals and 26 % in the Kakinada Special Economic Zone through its unit Mangalore Refinery, it said.