Indian oil companies Indian Oil Corp (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) have signed an agreement on the construction of their 60 Mt/year refinery project in Maharashtra (India). IOC will hold 50% in the project, while BPCL and HPCL will hold 25% each. Total investment is estimated at Rs 2,000bn, i.e. nearly US$30bn.
The refinery will be developed in two phases; the first phase, worth Rs 1,200-1,500 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.