Hyderabad based Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Limited (MEIL) has bagged a project to build Mongolia’s first greenfield oil refinery, on the outskirts of the capital city, Ulaanbaatar. The project is aimed at reducing the East Asian country’s dependency on Russian oil imports.

Officials said that the company would provide EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) services and EPC-3 (captive power plants) at a cost of $790 million using advanced technology. The project is part of the development partnership administration initiative of India’s Ministry of External Affairs. The refinery would be built using a line of credit from the central government.

Engineers India Limited is the project management consultant for this G2G partnership project. In the years to come, the officials said, this refinery will open up a number of employment opportunities, supporting the growth of nearby small industries.

A statement from the company said, “This downstream project is of enormous importance and marks a critical turning point in the relationship between India and Mongolia and in MEIL’s expansion strategy in the hydrocarbons sector. In addition, the project will bring economic prosperity and energy independence to Mongolia.”

A pipeline and a power plant are part of the refinery’s operations. Company officials said the refinery would be able to process 30,000 barrels of crude oil every day, or 1.5 million tonnes annually, reducing Mongolia’s dependency on Russian oil. It would help the country meet its needs for petroleum products such as gasoline, diesel, aviation fuel and liquefied petroleum gas.