New Delhi: State-run Bharat Petroleum Corp. is exploring to jointly develop its proposed greenfield refinery and petrochemical complex in Andhra Pradesh with public sector explorer Oil India Ltd.
The companies, as part of their memorandum of understanding (MoU), will also evaluate the possibility of Oil India (OIL) taking a minority equity stake in the proposed project, said a statement by Bharat Petroleum (BPCL) on Tuesday.
The proposed facility will have a refining capacity of 9-12 million metric tonnes per annum (mmtpa) and will entail an estimated investment of ₹1 trillion ($11 billion). The project has already secured key statutory clearances and 6,000 acres of land near Ramayapatnam Port from the government of Andhra Pradesh, and pre-project activities are on. The project is slated to begin commercial operations by FY30.
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“This collaboration marks a significant milestone in our journey to build world-class refining and petrochemical infrastructure in southern India,” Sanjay Khanna, director (refineries) with additional charge of chairman & managing director (CMD) at BPCL, said. “By joining hands with OIL, we are combining complementary strengths to create a project of strategic scale and sustainability.”
The move is in line with OIL’s commitment to strategic diversification initiatives in midstream and downstream sectors, according to Ranjit Rath, chairman & managing director at OIL and chairman, Numaligarh Refinery Ltd.
Strategic partnership
“By partnering with BPCL, OIL and NRL look forward to leveraging our collective strengths to unlock value creation and contribute to the nation’s energy security and distribution infrastructure,” he said.
The Ramayapatnam complex will feature a 1.5 mmtpa ethylene cracker unit.
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In an interview to Mint, erstwhile BPCL CMD G. Krishnakumar had said that the company’s refining capacity would reach around 50 million tonnes after the proposed refinery is commissioned. In December, the board had approved the commencement of pre-project activities that would incur an estimated cost of ₹6,100 crore.
Separately, BPCL, OIL, and Numaligarh Refinery signed a tripartite MoU to facilitate the efficient evacuation of petroleum products following NRL’s expansion from 3 MMTPA to 9 MMTPA.
The agreement covers the joint construction of a 700-km cross-country product pipeline from Siliguri (West Bengal) to Mughalsarai (Uttar Pradesh) through Muzaffarpur (Bihar), with an estimated investment of ₹3,500 crore. The pipeline, designed to transport petrol, high-speed diesel (HSD) and aviation turbine fuel (ATF) will be jointly owned by the three companies. BPCL would own 50%, and the remaining 50% would be held by Oil India and NRL.
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On the waste-to-energy front, BPCL also signed an MoU with Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore Ltd (FACT) for the supply and trading of fermented organic manure (FOM) and liquid fermented organic manure (LFOM) produced from BPCL’s upcoming municipal solid waste (MSW)-based compressed biogas (CBG) plant at Brahmapuram, near its Kochi refinery. The plant will process 150 MT of municipal waste per day, generating 5.6 mt (metric tonnes) of CBG, along with 28 mt of FOM and 100 kilolitres of LFOM daily.
This collaboration is expected to enable FACT to trade high-quality organic fertilizers, supporting sustainable agriculture while contributing to India’s waste-to-energy and green fuel vision.
BPCL, a Maharatna oil marketing and refining company, reported a net profit of ₹6,839.02 crore in the April-June quarter, up 140.67% year-on-year.
BPCL’s shares closed 0.69% higher on the BSE at ₹340.55 on Tuesday compared with a 0.18% decline in the benchmark Sensex. Oil India shares closed 2.27% lower at ₹413.10 apiece.
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