Hyderabad: Amerind Petroleum Private Limited (Amerind) proposes to set up a nearly Rs.120 billion petroleum refinery near Visakhapatnam, in joint technical collaboration with US-based American Industrial Corporation (AIC).

The refinery to come up in Petroleum, Chemicals and Petro-chemicals Investment Region (PCPIR) near the coastal city of Visakhapatnam, will have an initial refining capacity to process 7.5 million tonnes of crude oil per annum (or 150,000 barrels per day) and will produce the entire range of petroleum products.

A memorandum of understanding between Andhra Pradesh government and Amerind to set up the refinery was signed on Thursday in the presence of Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy.

Major Industries Minister J. Geeta Reddy later told reporters that the first phase of the project would be set up on turn key basis by AIC by relocating an existing and running refinery acquired by it in the US. The estimated cost of the first phase would be Rs.25.25 billion ($505 million).

In the second phase, the project would be expanded to a total refining capacity of 15 million tons per annum along with a petro-chemical complex, at an additional cost of Rs.86.11 billion.