The company made this announcement during trading hours today, 21 March 2012.

Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex was up 283.40 points, or 1.64% to 17,599.58.

On BSE, 8.93 lakh shares were traded in the counter as against average daily volume of 14.01 lakh shares in the past one quarter.

The stock hit a high of Rs 57.50 and a low of Rs 54.25 so far during the day. The stock had hit a 52-week high of Rs 147.80 on 11 April 2011. The stock had hit a 52-week low of Rs 44.80 on 18 January 2012.

The stock had underperformed the market over the past one month till 20 March 2012, falling 19.62% compared with the Sensex's 5.32% fall. The scrip had, however, outperformed the market in the past one quarter, surging 16.76% as against the Sensex's 14.11% gain.

The large-cap private sector crude oil refiner has an equity capital of Rs 1427.59 crore. Face value per share is Rs 10.

Essar Oil (EOL) said, with the successful commissioning of its new Vacuum Gas Oil Hydrotreating Unit (VGOHDT) and Sulphur Recovery Unit (SRU) at its Vadinar Refinery, the Delayed Coker Unit (DCU) is the only expansion unit that remains to be commissioned as part of EOL's Rs 8300-crore Phase I expansion project. The project is now just days away from being fully completed which will expand the capacity of the refinery to 18 million metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA) (3.75 lakh barrels per day) and enhance complexity to 11.8 (from 6.1 currently), which is amongst the highest in the world, Essar Oil said in a statement.

The SRU will help the refinery recover 99.9 % of sulphur in acid gases generated from the Amine Regeneration Unit (ARU) and the Sour Water Stripper (SWS), two units that have already been commissioned, Essar Oil said. The SRU plays a key role in helping the refinery meet the latest emission norms. Addition of a new SRU to the refinery configuration will also enable EOL to process sour and opportunity crudes, Essar Oil said in a statement.

With this commissioning, Essar Oil's capital expenditure programme is beginning to taper off. The company will see substantial pick up in revenue and profitability going forward, Essar Oil said in a statement.

Commenting on the development, Mr C Manoharan, Head of Refinery, Essar Oil said, "The VGOHDT Unit will ensure that the refinery is able to achieve a throughput capacity of 18 MMTPA. With a capacity of 6.5 MMTPA, the VGOHDT at the Vadinar Refinery is among the largest units of its kind. It will help the refinery produce low sulphur, high octane gasoline (petrol). The unit is also capable of producing naphtha, kerosene and gas oil (diesel)".

Commenting on the development, Mr L K Gupta, Managing Director & CEO, Essar Oil said, "The world today has moved to ultra low sulphur fuels, and refineries that can manufacture such products have a competitive edge. The Vadinar Refinery, which is now in the final leg of its expansion programme, will soon be among the world's most complex refineries capable of producing fuels that meet the world's most stringent emission norms. Commissioned units like the Isomerization Unit (ISOM), Diesel Hydrotreater (DHDT) and the SRU are critical components of a world-class refinery such as ours. They give us the capability to process heavier and tougher crudes and produce high-quality products that find acceptance in both domestic and international markets".

Essar Oil has also commissioned a state-of-the-art Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) with a capacity of 540 cubic meters per hour. The ETP consists of Primary, Biological and Tertiary treatment sections to recover the oil and remove pollutants from the effluent water streams generated at different process units and ensures meeting the environmental norms, Essar Oil said. The treated water will be reused for cooling tower or for the generation of demineralised water through the RO plant. The treated water can also be used for horticulture, Essar Oil said in a statement.

Alongside the Phase I expansion, an optmisation project is also underway at the Vadinar Refinery that will further increase the capacity to 20 MMTPA (4.05 lakh barrels per day) by September 2012. The capacity expansion, complexity enhancement and subsequent optimisation will give the Vadinar refinery the capability to process over 80% heavy and ultra-heavy crudes, which are lower cost than light crudes. In terms of product yield, the expanded Vadinar Refinery will have the flexibility to produce higher value, high-quality products, Essar Oil said in a statement.

Essar Oil reported net loss of Rs 3986 crore in Q3 December 2011, compared with net profit of Rs 273 crore in Q3 December 2010. Net sales rose 5% to Rs 13119 crore in Q3 December 2011 over Q3 December 2010.

Essar Oil, a subsidiary of Essar Energy, is a fully integrated oil & gas company with strong presence across the hydrocarbon value chain from exploration & production to refining and oil retail. It has a global portfolio of onshore and offshore oil & gas blocks, with about 2.1 billion barrels of oil equivalent in reserves & resources. There are more than 1,600 Essar-branded oil retail outlets in various parts of India.