Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) is exploring the option of setting up a 9 million tonne per annum (mn tpa) refinery at Barmer, Rajasthan in collaboration with its other partners.The proposal is at a preliminary stage and configuration and detailed feasibility study has been initiated, Subir Roy Choudhury, Chairman and Managing Director of HPCL said in his address at the 60th Annual General Meeting of the company’s shareholders. Besides, the firm plans to expand its existing Vishakapatnam refinery to 15 mn mtpa, he said.Giving further details about the forthcoming projects of the company, Choudhury said his company was participating in three natural gas pipelines notified by PNGRB through a consortium formed with GSPC and others. The three pipelines are Mallavaram-Bhilwara, Mehsana-Bathinda, and Bathinda-Srinagar gas pipelines.In the current financial year, the company won bids for two major pipeline projects namely –Rewari-Kanpur pipeline and Awa-Salavas pipeline- and is awaiting a formal communication from PNGRB for the same. It has also submitted expression of interest to the PNGRB for the Mangalore-Hassan-Bangalore-Mysore LPG pipeline, the chairman said.The company is also setting up two Diesel Hydro Treater (DHT) units of 2.2 mn tpa, one each at Mumbai and Vizag refineries in order to meet the requirements of the BS-IV quality diesel as specified in the Auto Fuel Policy.