A
remote place in the extreme northeast corner of the country
etched out a place for itself in the industrial history of
India over a century ago. This little town, Digboi, is the
headquarters of the Assam Oil Division of
the Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. and is regarded
as the birthplace the country's petroleum industry. It was
in this region that the pioneers struck oil in the midst of
dense jungles at a time when there was hardly any industrial
development in the country.The Digboi Refinery,
commissioned in 1901 , is today India's oldest operating refinery
and one of the oldest operating refineries in the world. In
fact, it was the only refinery in India till the mid 1950's.
Earlier owned and operated by the Assam Oil Company
ltd. It came into the fold of the Indian Oil Corporation
ltd. by an Act of Parliament on 14th.October 1981
and became Assam Oil Division of Indian
Oil Ltd.
Post
Nationalization, phase-wise modernization of the age old Refinery
was taken up and a total transforma -tion of the of the Refinery
have taken place over the decade or so.Today, with its vastly
modernized operations and facilities, Digboi
Refinery is an ISO 9002 - ISO 14001 and DNV OHSMS 1997 accredited
refinery manufacturing major petroleum products and a wide
range of specialty products. Digboi refinery also meets the
requirements of BS 8800.
Sequestered
in the idyllic hilly reaches of the Northeast, almost under
the shadow of the Burma hills, Digboi is about 520 Kms, to
the east of Guwahati on National Highway 38. Digboi Township
- strewn with green hillocks and undulating plains - is another
world in itself.
