Mangaluru: Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL) held an informal meet with media persons at Ocean Pearl here, on November 9.
Director of Refinery, M Venkatesh said that there has been a lot of concern from people recently about the safety issues of MRPL, especially the flare outs. Explaining the process of using gas flares, he said that these are used to let out gases to avoid over-pressuring of plant equipment. The flare ensures that these gases that are let out get burned to carbon dioxide and water vapor. A Hazard and Operability (HAZOP) study is conducted to identify and evaluate problems that may represent risks to personnel or equipment. Mock drills are conducted regularly to train all personnel for emergencies. Safety reviews are also conducted to check reliability of all equipment.
He further said that during unplanned operational interruptions such as blackouts, the intensity of the flare may increase.
Speaking on MRPL’s retail plans, Managing Director H Kumar said that the board has given the final approval for its retail outlet network and in the next couple of weeks, the outlets will be announced. He further said that 122 outlets will be created in the 1st phase and that the retail plans will be initially restricted to Karnataka, Kerala
Group General Manager (HR) Konduri Lakshminarayana, expressing his views on the Ramakrishna Mission’s Swachh Mangaluru Abhiyan, which is being sponsored byMRPL since the 8th week of the drive, said that MRPL thought of joining the drive after seeing what the Mission was doing. “What they are doing is not just mere cleaning but they are also bringing awareness among the public. Between the 8th week of the abhiyan and the 26th week (8 November), it has become a movement and whenever something becomes a movement, there will be an attitudinal shift. I’m sure that this will come after a period of time because of the way that this abhiyan is conducted, with a lot of involvement of the youth. I was surprised to see students of schools and colleges eager to be part of the drive; despite it being conducted on Sundays, the students were happy to voluntarily do it. This abhiyan will definitely bring changes in the society,” said Lakshminarayana, adding that MRPL has planned to build a model at MRPL’s cost and give it to the Mission at the end of the 50th week.
MRPL also announced the appointment of its new Director of Finance, A K Sahoo, who will be starting his term from 1st of February 2016.