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.
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.
Medical-grade oxygen is not a product that was produced at the Jamnagar refineries, but with demand for oxygen rising due to a rapid surge in corona virus cases, Reliance has installed equipment and set up processes to produce and supply medical-grade oxygen. And the entire supply of oxygen, including transportation in special tankers at minus 183 degrees Celsius is made at no cost to the state governments, adding this was a part of the company’s CSR initiative.
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. The supply of medical-grade oxygen is another initiative of Reliance Industries and Reliance Foundation to provide relief in the ongoing pandemic.
