IOC, HPC and BPCL raise cost for 60 Mt/year refinery project (India)

Indian oil companies Indian Oil Corp (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL), Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) and Engineers India Ltd (EIL) have raised the total investment for their 60 Mt/year refinery project in Maharashtra (India) to Rs 2 lakh crore (Rs 2,000bn, i.e. nearly US$30bn).



The refinery will be developed in two phases; the first phase, worth Rs 1.2-1.5 bn (US$18-22bn), will have a processing capacity of 40 Mt/year (800,000 bbl/d) and will include an aromatic complex, naphtha cracker and polymer complex. The first phase should be completed 5-6 years after the land acquisition.

The second phase will add 20 Mt/year at a cost of Rs 500-600bn (US$7.4-8.9bn). The government of Maharashtra and the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas will work for early identification of land for refinery and finalisation of details of the project. Two or three sites on the coast of Maharashtra are currently being explored.



Overall, IOC plans to invest Rs 40,000 crore (US$5.9bn) to boost its refining capacity to more than 100 Mt/year by 2022 (104.55 Mt/year), from the current 80.7 Mt/year. The group will increase the capacity of its Koyali refinery in Gujarat from 13.7 Mt/year to 18 Mt/year, and that of the Panipat refinery from 15 Mt/year to 20 Mt/year. IOC will also add 3 Mt/year at its 8 Mt/year Mathura refinery in Uttar Pradesh, 3 Mt/year at its 9 Mt/year Barauni refinery in Bihar and 3 Mt/year at Digboi and Bongaigaon refineries in the North-East. IOC will also add 5 Mt/year at its newly commissioned 15 Mt/year Paradip refinery in Odisha.

BPCL also plans to raise its refining capacity from 30.5 Mt/year to 53 Mt/year, by adding 6 Mt/year to its Kochi refinery and 1.6 Mt/year to its Mumbai refinery. The group also plans to add 6 Mt/year to its 3 Mt/year Numaligarh refinery and 9 Mt/year to its 6 Mt/year Bina refinery in Madhya Pradesh.

Their partner HPCL is also expanding its refining capacity.