The
refinery-cum-petrochemicals complex, being built at a cost of nearly Rs 73,000
crore, will have a crude processing capacity of 9 million tonnes per annum
(mtpa) and is expected to cater to the rapidly rising fuel demand in the
northern parts of the country.
The refinery has
achieved 76 per cent mechanical completion and the first refined products are
likely to start flowing from the unit by December or January next year, HPCL’s
Director, Refineries S Bharathan told reporters on the sidelines of the India
Energy Week in Goa. It will be the first
refinery to be commissioned in India since Indian Oil Corporation’s (IOC)
15-mtpa unit in Odisha’s Paradip.
It will also be the
first refinery to come on stream since Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year
announced that India aims to increase its total refining capacity to 450 mtpa
from 254 mtpa. India is among the top economies that are driving global oil
demand growth. According to the International Energy Agency’s projections,
India will overtake China in 2027 to become the biggest driver of oil demand
growth globally.
HPCL’s Rajasthan
refinery is expected to operate at 75-80 per cent of its 9-mtpa capacity in the
first year—2025—as units will get commissioned in a phased manner, Bharathan
said, adding that full capacity utilisation is expected to be achieved by 2027.
HPCL has two refineries of its own at Mumbai and Visakhapatnam, and a
joint-venture unit in Punjab’s Bathinda.
The Rajasthan facility’s
petrochemicals unit is likely to be commissioned around three months after the
refinery comes on stream, Bharathan said.
The refinery-cum-petrochemicals project is being executed by HPCL Rajasthan
Refinery (HRRL), in which HPCL has a 74 per cent stake, while the rest is held
by the Rajasthan government.
The project was first
announced in 2008, but could not take off for years due to differences with the
state government on fiscal incentives. Once the issues were resolved, work on
the project site began in 2018.
The refinery will
process crude oil produced in Rajasthan, apart from using imported crude. Bharathan said that the facility is a
highly complex one and will be able to process nearly all types of crudes.
The complex will produce Bharat Stage VI (BS-VI) grade petrol, diesel, apart
from other fuels and various petrochemical products. Apart from robust fuel
demand, demand for petrochemicals in India is slated to rise rapidly in the
years to come. Despite its large size and population, the per-capita
petrochemical consumption in India is significantly lower than developed
economies.