Indian refiners join forces for plant

Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation and Hindustan Petroleum on Wednesday agreed to join forces for the construction of a mega refinery on India’s west coast.

Valued at some USD 30 billion, the greenfield facility is to be built in Maharashtra across an area of some 55 square kilometres. The project, headed by IOC on a 50% stake, will be executed in two stages. The first 40-million-tonne stage will comprise the construction of an aromatics complex, naphtha cracker and polymer complex.

Phase two, valued at between USD 7.5 billion and USD 9 billion, will see the construction of a refinery with an estimated crude processing capacity of 400,000 bpd. The facility as a whole will have a capacity to rival Reliance Industries’ Jamnagar 1.24 million barrels per stream day. Bharat Petroleum Corporation and Hindustan Petroleum will hold 25% each in the venture, which is expected to become operational towards the end of 2021.