‘BPCL’s Rs 2 lakh crore​ refinery on track'

MUMBAI: State-run Bharat Petroleum Corporation said on Monday the proposed Rs 2 lakh crore mega refinery complex will be operational within four years after receiving environmental clearances. The 60 million tonne per annum refinery will be the world’s largest and will meet the future fuel demand, which is likely to touch 458 million tonnes by 2040.

“Once you really start, it should take 36-48 months for completion. The first thing that needs to get done is getting the land and environmental clearance. We need to apply for all those. As of now, we are not seeing any hurdles,” said D Rajkumar, chairman, BPCL.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an event here on Monday, he said the project was being undertaken as a joint venture among three state-run oil firms under which Indian Oil will hold 50 per cent equity and BPCL and HPCL holding remaining stakes equally. The joint venture is likely to be operational later this month or early August and the project will come up at Babulwadi, near Rajapur, in Ratnagiri district in the ecologically sensitive coastal Konkan belt, closer to the 10,000-mw Jaitapur nuclear power project.

Stating that it required approximately 15,000 acres, he said the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation was doing the land acquisition. “Our location has already been finalised and the activities related to land acquisition have already started. Maharashtra has been very co-operative and through MIDC the land will be acquired,” he said. The refinery and petrochemical complex will require 10,000 acres.