Dear Colleague,

We have recently received a cash subsidy of Rs 8071 crore from the Government which will go a long way in improving the cash flow and help in reduce borrowings which today stands at Rs 44,000 crore. With positive signals on the decontrol of the pricing regime, we can expect more such good news in the future. In another historic initiative that is likely to change the complexion of the natural gas marketing business in the country, we have signed a MoU with TIDCO for setting up a LNG re-gasification terminal, City Gas Distribution (CGD) pipelines and a gas-based Power Plant at Ennore in Tamil Nadu. Our Ennore project, one of the largest investments of IndianOil in this part of the country, is expected to transform the energy landscape of much of South India. The MoU encompasses the setting up of a 2.5 million tonnes per annum LNG terminal at a cost of Rs.3,000 crore and a 1000 MW LNG based Power plant which will be an anchor customer of LNG for the project.

IndianOil has been in the forefront of green technologies and a foremost proponent of sustainability. Time and again we have come forward to help in the formulation of government policies on green auto fuels, auto emissions, lubrication processes and environmental and safety standards in the oil industry. In another instance of our increasing technological prowess, our know-how was sought to tackle the oil spill which happened off the Mumbai coast due to the collision of two vessels. A team was quickly dispatched from IndianOil and TERI to deploy our famed Oilivorous technology, developed jointly by the two organisations, to dissipate oil containing wastes like sludges. The technology which has been used and tested extensively in our refineries has even won several national and international recognitions.

Also on display at Leh and Manipur was our commitment to the nation. The Ladakh region recently bore the brunt of a cloudburst which was followed by landslides which killed several people and injured hundreds. IndianOil not only stepped in to maintain uninterrupted supplies of petroleum products but also rushed in to provide relief and succor. Ladakh is also a strategic part of our nation. IndianOil is the only oil company operating in this area and our LPG bottling plant, depot and aviation fuel station are literally the backbone for energy sustenance in the region. Despite several hardships our locations continued to work in ensuring that the energy lifelines are open 24x7.

Similarly, when the supply line to Manipur was affected it was IndianOil which took the up the task of maintaining the supply chain. We even airlifted petroleum products to ensure that our customers didn’t suffer. This dedication to make a difference is symbolic of our value system. My compliments to all IndianOil colleagues who were a part of the truly heroic humanitarian efforts at Leh and Manipur. We were recently conferred with the 'Asia's Best Employer Brand Award-2010' at Singapore. The award is in recognition of IndianOil's efforts in building a strong employer brand. We also received recognition for 'Excellence in Training' during the awards ceremony, which was attended by the leading professionals across Asia and Australia.

I welcome my dear colleague Dr. R.K Malhotra who joined the IndianOil Board as the Director (Research & Development). Research will be a key driver in all our future plans and with Dr. Malhotra at the helm we can expect a further boost in the various initiatives in the pipeline. I take the opportunity of wishing every member of the IndianOil family the very best on the occasion of the IndianOil Day on September 1st, 2010. As always I look forward to hearing from you and can email your responses to bansalbm@iocl.co.in

Jai Hind

B M Bansal
Chairman