Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) has announced plans to invest around INR490bn ($5.94bn) to expand the capacity of its Bina refinery in Madhya Pradesh, India.
The Indian state-owned oil and gas company said that the main component of the expansion programme is an ethylene cracker project, which will drive the production of important petrochemicals.
Apart from the new ethylene cracker, BPCL will install downstream petrochemical plants and associated facilities. Overall, the expansion project will increase the capacity of the Bina refinery from 7.8 million tonnes per annum (mmtpa) to 11mmtpa.
BPCL expects the Bina refinery expansion project to address the increasing demand of petroleum products across central and northern India. Besides, it will provide the required feedstock to the ethylene cracker complex, while the petrochemical facility will serve the rising domestic demand for petrochemical products.
For improving its footprints in renewable energy, BPCL plans to install two wind farms in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, each of 50MW capacity, for captive consumption at its Bina and Mumbai refineries, respectively.
Each of the wind farms will cost around INR 4.89bn ($59m) and together are expected to play a part in a greener and more eco-friendly operation, said BPCL.
The Indian downstream company also announced an investment of around INR 27.5bn ($330m) in petroleum oil lubricants (POL) and lube oil base stock (LOBS) installations with receipt pipelines at Rasayani, Maharashtra.
BPCL chairman and MD G Krishnakumar said: “BPCL has leapfrogged into the world of Petrochemicals as we embark upon the ₹49000 Ethylene Cracker project in our Bina Refinery, in step with the expansion of Refining capacity to 11 MMTPA.
“Combined with our investment in Wind Energy and new age Petroleum Oil Lubricants installations built for sustainable processes, this is a watershed moment in our strategic endeavour to be at the forefront in meeting the rapidly growing demand for energy and Petrochemical products in India.”
Located at Bina Etawa in Sagar district, the Bina oil refinery was commissioned in 2011.
