P. Murali Madhavan, Executive Director and Head of BPCL Kochi Refinery, is retiring from Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd on Saturday.
Soon after taking over as the head of the Refinery on January 1, he handled the challenge of operating the refinery during the Covid-19 pandemic when the demand for petroleum products, except LPG, had dropped drastically. Production was optimised and all Covid-19 protocols were put in place, a release said.
Starting with Unlock 1, the Kochi refinery made use of the lean period to carry out shutdown maintenance jobs of its various units. At a time when international travel was not allowed, the shutdowns were done innovatively using remote monitoring of foreign licensors through digital technology.
During his tenure, the company took up a large number of CSR projects associated with the pandemic including providing ventilators to Government Hospitals, food and sanitisation kits to the poor, assistance for online classes and free oxygen for government hospitals.
He led the technical team that conceptualised the Integrated Refinery Expansion Project (IREP) that helped Kochi Refinery become the largest PSU refinery in the country. Later, he headed the team that successfully and safely commissioned IREP units. IREP, with an investment of Rs 16,500 crore, is the largest project in Kerala.