CHENNAI: Fuel marketer and refiner Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL) will invest nearly Rs 1 lakh crore over the next half a decade in order to increase its refining capacity, said company chairman Shrikant Madhav Vaidya on Friday. The investments will result in refining capacity expansion of over 25 million metric tonne per annum, Vaidya told the company’s shareholders at its annual general meeting.
These capacity expansions are aimed at addressing the expected increase in fuel demand over the next several years. Indian fuel demand is expected to climb to nearly 450 million tonnes by 2040, nearly double the current consumption level of 250 million tonnes per annum, Vaidya noted.
“This offers enough legroom for all forms of energy to co-exist,” he said. The 25 million metric tonne capacity expansion will be driven by projects across existing facilities owned by both Indian Oil and subsidiary Chennai Petroleum Corp (CPCL). IOC currently operates 11 refineries producing various petroleum products such as petrol and diesel with a cumulative capacity of 81.2 million tonnes per annum.
The company now plans to increase capacity at its facilities in Koyali, Gujarat (from 13.7 million tonnes to 18 million tonnes) and Panipat, Haryana (from 15 million tonnes to 25 million tonnes). Capacity expansions are also planned for its Guwahati, Assam, and Barauni, Bihar, while a new plant is to be built by CPCL.
According to Vaidya, IOC is also planning to integrate current refining processes to yield more products for every barrel of crude oil processed. “This will intensify petrochemical and lubricant integration leading to a diversified product portfolio and attain profit maximisation. In fact, integration projects, like the upcoming Styrene Monomer Project at Panipat or the Lube Integration Project at Gujarat Refinery will also reduce India’s import dependence and strengthen the promise of an Aatmanirbhar Bharat,” he said.
The company is also expanding its green energy focus, with Vaidya noting that IOCL is exploring forays into CNG and LNG as fuel for automobiles, hydrogen-spiked CNG for long-haul buses, biofuels, hydrogen and e-mobility solutions. “Indian Oil is charting its course as a future-ready global energy giant and we are working on a range of scalable alternative energy options,” he said.