Indian Oil, Hindustan Petroleum and Bharat Petroleum to construct new refinery

India-based oil majors Indian Oil (IOC), Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum (BPCL) are reportedly planning to construct a new refinery on the country’s west coast.

IOC refining head Sanjiv Singh told Reuters that the new refinery would be built to address growing local demand and also to supply overseas markets.

The new refinery, which is expected to cost Rs25bn ($374m) per million tonnes, will be capacity of more than 15 million tonnes and also incorporate a petrochemical complex.

It is planned to be built in phases. A feasibility study on costing and size of the new refinery is yet to be commissioned.

BPCL and HPCL are currently operating refineries in western Maharashtra state.

Singh did not disclose details pertaining to the location of the plant but said that the west coast location will provide an advantage to the unit as crude oil can be sourced from the Middle East and Africa easily.

In December 2015, oil and gas minister Dharmendra Pradhan said that the plant may come up in the Indian state of Maharashtra.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) said oil consumption in India is seen increasing by six million barrels per day (bpd) to about ten million bpd by 2040.

Recently, IOC announced plans to upgrade its Paradip refinery in the Indian state of Odisha with an investment of Rs40bn ($597m).

The refinery, which was commissioned in 2015, is spread across 3,344 acres and has a capacity of 300,000 barrels per day.