India’s biggest oil refinery to cost $30 bn

New Delhi : India's biggest oil refinery that state-run IOC, BPCL, HPCL and EIL plan to set up on the west coast will cost $30 billion (around Rs 2 lakh crore), a senior official said.

“The 60 million tonne a year refinery and a mega petrochemical complex will be set up in two phases. The Phase-1 will be 40 million tonne together with an aromatic complex, naphtha cracker and polymer complex,” said Sanjiv Singh, Director (refineries), IOC. The Phase-1 will cost Rs 1.2-1.5 lakh crore and will come up in the next five to six from the date of land acquisition, he said.

“The entire refinery will include three crude units of 20 million tonne each. The first of these will be part of phase-1. The mega complex will require 12,000-15,000 acre and two-three sites on the coast of Maharashtra are being explored,”: he said. The second phase will cost Rs 50,000-60,000 crore, he added.

IOC has been looking at west coast for a refinery as catering to customers in West and South was difficult with its refineries mostly in the North.

HPCL and BPCL have also been looking at a bigger refinery because of constraints they face at their Mumbai units. “The refinery will produce petrol, diesel, LPG, ATF and feedstock for petrochemical plants in plastic, chemical and textile industries in Maharashtra,” he said.

Fifteen million tonne a year is the biggest refinery any public sector unit has set up in one stage. IOC recently started its 15 million tonne unit at Paradip in Odisha.

Reliance Industries holds the distinction of building the biggest refinery in India till now. It built its first refinery at Jamnagar in Gujarat with a capacity of 27 million tonne, whichwas subsequently expanded to 33 million tonne. It has built another unit adjacent to it for exports, with a capacity of 29 million tonne.

Being on the west coast will provide the unit a natural advantage of easily sourcing crude oil from the Middle East, Africa and South America, Singh said.

source:PTI