RPL implementing expansion plans

New Delhi - India's largest refiner, Reliance Petroleum Ltd (RPL), is implementing plans to expand the annual capacity of its Jamnagar refinery to 33 million tonnes from 27 million, Petroleum Minister Ram Naik said. The expansion is part of several projects by existing refineries that will together add 15.73 million tonnes of refining capacity a year, Naik told a panel of lawmakers, says Reuters. "Apart from the proposed new refinery projects...a large number of expansion projects of existing refineries are also being implemented," Naik told the panel. Others on the list include the Barauni Refinery of which is expanding capacity by 1.8 million tonnes and Bombay Refinery of HPCL which will add 0.33 million tonnes, Naik said.

Yukos, Marathon Oil form alliance

Moscow - Russia's second biggest oil company, Yukos, said yesterday it had agreed to form a strategic alliance with US- based Marathon Oil Co, a unit of USX Corp. Both companies want to expand internationally and the alliance is expected to consider joint energy investments in different parts of the world, Yukos said in a statement to Reuters. "The planned alliance with Marathon is aimed at expansion of our international business and is an important step in our strategy of becoming a leading international energy company," Yukos Chief Executive Mikhail Khodorkovsky said in the statement.