The petroleum ministry seems to be playing a balancing act between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. According to officials, the ministry is looking at setting up a petroleum university in Telangana, to be headed by the chief minister. Last week, Telangana Rashtra Samithi chief K Chandrasekhar Rao was sworn in as the first chief minister. Besides, the Centre is pushing state-run Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) to do a feasibility study for a refinery on the eastern coast of Andhra Pradesh, where N Chandrababu Naidu of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) took charge as the new chief minister. “We were asked to expedite the Rs 60,000-crore petrochemical project in Vizag against the backdrop of the state formation,” confirmed B K Namdeo, ...

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