From RIL To Tata Steel – How India Inc Has Ramped Up Efforts To Supply Oxygen To Covid Patients & Combat Shortage

New Delhi: Billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd has tweaked manufacturing at its Jamnagar oil refineries to produce over 700 tonnes a day of medical-grade oxygen which is being supplied free of cost to states badly affected by COVID-19, sources have told news agency PTI.  

The company’s Jamnagar refineries in Gujarat initially produced 100 tonnes of medical-grade oxygen, which has quickly been ramped up to over 700 tonnes, people aware of the matter said.  

The supplies being made to states like Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh will provide relief to over 70,000 critically ill patients everyday.  

The company plans to raise medical-grade oxygen production capacity to 1,000 tonnes, sources said, without giving a timeline.  

An e-mail sent to the company for comments remained unanswered.  

Medical-grade oxygen is not a product that was produced at the Jamnagar refineries, which convert crude oil into products such as diesel, petrol and jet fuel. 

But with demand for oxygen rising due to a rapid surge in coronavirus cases, Reliance has installed equipment and set up processes to produce and supply medical-grade oxygen.  

Sources said industrial oxygen is being diverted to produce medical-grade oxygen.  
             
“Every day nearly 700 tonnes of oxygen is being supplied to states across India. This will provide relief to over 70,000 critically ill patients daily,” one of the persons said.  
             
The entire supply of oxygen, including transportation in special tankers at minus 183 degrees Celsius is made at no cost to the state governments, sources said, adding this was a part of the company’s CSR initiative.  

Dhanraj Nathwani, Vice President, Gujarat Cricket Association and a close associate of the promoters of Reliance, in a tweet on Tuesday said: “400 tons of #oxygen is being supplied to #Gujarat by the Reliance Jamnagar, on a daily basis. This shows our commitment for Gujarat.”  
             
Reliance operates the world’s largest oil refining complex at Jamnagar in Gujarat.  
             
Sources said the supply of medical-grade oxygen is another initiative of Reliance Industries and Reliance Foundation to provide relief in the ongoing pandemic.  

IOL and Bharat Petroleum’s Efforts
             
State-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) too have begun diverting oxygen produced at their refineries to supplement the availability of medical oxygen in states worst hit by COVID-19.  
             
IOC on Monday said it has “begun the supply of 150 tonnes of oxygen at no cost to various hospitals in Delhi, Haryana and Punjab.”  

Separately, BPCL said it has started supply of 100 tonnes of oxygen at no cost.  
             
Oil refineries can produce limited volumes of industrial oxygen in air-separation plants meant for nitrogen production. Scrubbing out other gases such as carbon dioxide can convert it into medical-use oxygen with 99.9 per cent purity.  

(People refill medical oxygen cylinders for Covid-19 coronavirus patients at an oxygen refile station in Allahabad on April 20, 2021. SANJAY KANOJIA / AFP)

BPCL starts supply 100 MT of medical grade oxygen to hospitals

Oil marketing major BPCL has started the supply of medical grade oxygen to hospitals at ‘no cost’ in the view of shortage impacting critical patients of Covid-19.

The company will be supplying around 100 metric tonnes per month.

“With average daily cases of Covid-19 rising again since last one month, the demand for oxygen has significantly risen,” the company said in a statement.

Vedanta offers to supply oxygen from its closed copper plant in Tuticorin

The Vedanta group has offered to supply oxygen from its locked Sterlite copper plant in Tuticorin.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Sterlite, Pankaj Kumar, in separate letters to Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami, has offered to supply oxygen to the Centre, Tamil nadu and other state governments from its close copper plant in Tuticorin.

Kumar said in his letter to Harsh Vardhan, “The Sterlite copper plant in Tuticorin contains two oxygen plants with a combined capacity of 1000 tonnes daily. We would now offer these facilities for your use towards ensuring that there is no lack of this vital commodity in the nation and also to join hands with the commendable efforts of our Prime Minister at this crucial juncture.

“We would be grateful to be allowed this opportunity to support the nation’s needs. Our staff stand prepared to get these two plants operational in the shortest possible time and begin dispatching oxygen to the critical areas as per your direction.”

Vedanta has also filed a petition in the Supreme Court outlining the support it has extended to the government of India, Tamil Nadu and other state governments in supplying oxygen during the Covid emergency.

It may be noted that Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappady K Palaniswami had on Sunday directed the industries department to issue temporary licences to industrial units which are willing to supply oxygen during these trying times.

(A health worker carries a medical oxygen cylinder for Covid-19 coronavirus patients at an oxigen refile station in Allahabad on April 20, 2021. SANJAY KANOJIA / AFP)

India Inc to help Maharashtra in enchancing oxygen supply

India Inc has assured Maharashtra government in increasing supplies of medical oxygen, chief minister Uddhav Thackeray’s office said in a press statement last Saturday. Thackeray’s interaction was with CEOs and representatives of industry bodies CII and FICCI who also agreed to set up Covid-19 testing and vaccination centres in industrial areas.

Industry leaders, including Kotak Mahindra bank managing director Uday Kotak, RPG group chairman Harsh Goenka, Infosys CEO Salil Parekh, real estate developer Niranjan Hiranandani and others participated in the interaction, reported the Business Standard.

100 companies asked to divert oxygen for healthcare needs

According to an Indian Express report, a top official with Confederation of Indian Industries, who is part of the co-ordination team of the CII members on Covid-related developments, informed that in the last few days, the industry body has identified 100 companies across the country that either manufacture or use oxygen in their plants and have been asked to divert oxygen for the healthcare needs in their states.

Tata Steel on Sunday announced it is supplying up to 300 tonnes of medical oxygen on a daily basis to various state governments and hospitals for treatment of COVID-19 patients.

Liquid medical oxygen or LMO is a crucial medical requirement for the treatment of coronavirus patients.

“Responding to the national urgency, we are supplying 200-300 tonnes of liquid medical oxygen daily to various state governments and hospitals. We are in this fight together and will surely win it! @PMOIndia @TataCompanies,” Tata Steel said in a tweet.

(Oxygen tankers are seen being boarded on a special train ‘Oxygen Express’ that would transport to the needy states amid Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic at a goods yard in Navi Mumbai on April 19, 2021. AFP)

JPCL also supplying around 100 tonne oxygen daily

JSPL also said it is supplying 50-100 tonne oxygen daily from its facilities at Angul (Odisha) and Raigarh (Chhattisgarh).
In a tweet on Saturday, the country’s largest steel-making company SAIL said it has also supplied over 33,300 tonnes of LMO for the treatment of coronavirus-affected patients.

“@SAILsteel supplied more than 33,300 tonnes of liquid medical oxygen (#LMO) of 99.7 per cent purity of #Oxygen for #COVIDRelief from its integrated steel plants #Bokaro (#Jharkhand), #Bhilai (#Chhattisgarh), #Rourkela (#Odisha), #Durgapur and #Burnpur (#WestBengal),” SAIL said in a tweet.