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Tuesday January 6, 08:40 PM
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Oil workers' strike from Wed may hit some refineries
By Nidhi Verma
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The strike called by officials at state-run oil firms from Wednesday may hit operations at some of the country's 17 state-run refineries, Petroleum Secretary R.S. Pandey told reporters.
But he said crude oil output by Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC (ONGC.NS : 1158.35 +5.5
)) and Oil India Ltd would not be affected.
Officials at refiners such as Bharat Petroleum (BPCL.NS : 510.25 +5.25) Corp Ltd, Indian Oil Corp, and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd, as well as explorers ONGC and Oil India, have called for a strike, demanding higher salaries.
"Three refineries will not work from tomorrow in case of strike. Efforts are on to ensure that they will also work but all this will be tested tomorrow," Pandey told reporters.
Earlier Oil Sector Officers' Association President Amit Kumar had said the strike would begin at 6:00 a.m. on Wednesday.
Pandey said some units at BPCL's 150,000 bpd Kochi plant might be affected: "I have been informed that only three-fourths of Kochi refinery will operate."
He said aviation fuel supply services would not suffer due to the planned walkout.
An IOC (IOC.NS : 313.15 +1.7) official, who could not be identified, said the strike would hit the firm's 260,000 barrels per day Koyali refinery, the 240,000 bpd Panipat plant, the 160,000 bpd Mathura refinery and the 120,000 bpd Haldia unit.
Pandey said officials at Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd were not joining the industrial action, but Kumar said all officials were behind the agitation.
"We are all preparing for a strike across India at the same time. Petroleum products production and crude oil supply will be hit," Kumar said.
Unions at state-run oil firms often call strikes, but in recent years they have withdrawn the agitation before any dent in supplies.
Private refiners Reliance Industries (RELIANCE.NS : 1957.5 +16.35) and Essar Oil (ESSAROIL.NS : 132.4 +0.05) are expected to operate normally, and officials say the government may turn to them for supplies if needed.
