BPCL plans refining-cum-petrochemical complex in 5-7 yrs

State-owned Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) is exploring setting up an oil refining and petrochemical complex over the next 5-7 years as it steps up capacity to meet India's rising energy demand, chairman G Krishnakumar told shareholders on Friday.

BPCL, which lost one of its four oil refineries to Oil India Ltd in the aborted privatisation plan, has lined up Rs 1.7 lakh crore of investment for expanding its core oil refining and fuel retailing business as well as in new energy ventures.

"To meet the anticipated demand beyond our planned expansions in Bina and Kochi (refineries), we are actively evaluating options for setting up additional integrated refining and petrochemical capacities within the next 5-7 years," he said.

BPCL had to give up its Numaligarh refinery in Assam to OIL when the government was attempting to privatise the company. The transfer was to keep the Numaligarh unit within public sector to honour Assam accord. But BPCL privatisation was aborted due to lack of interest by bidders.

The firm is now left with refineries at Mumbai, Bina in Madhya Pradesh and Kochi in Kerala.

Krishnakumar said India's annual consumption of refined fuels and petrochemicals is expected to grow by 4-5 per cent and 7-8 per cent in the 'foreseeable future'. "This presents a strategic opportunity to expand refining capacity alongside the development of integrated petrochemical complexes."

Building on its strong Indian energy presence, BPCL aspires to meet 7-10 per cent of the nation's primary energy demand by 2047, he said adding the firm's five-year strategic framework aims at nurturing the core and investing in future big bets.

"While we remain committed to growing our core businesses, which include refining, marketing of petroleum products and upstream, we are equally focused on our big bets comprising petrochemicals, gas, green energy, non-fuel retail, and digital," he said. "... a planned capex outlay of around Rs 1.70 lakh crore over five years will enable us to create long-term value for our stakeholders, while preserving our planet for future generations."

BPCL's healthy balance sheet, currently at zero net-debt at standalone level, allows for these investments without compromising financial stability.

Besides expanding oil refining capacity, the firm is looking to become a dominant player in India's petrochemical growth story.

"Towards this, in the financial year 2023-24, we announced two new petrochemical projects in Bina and Kochi with an aggregate capital outlay of Rs 54,000 crore," he said.

He said BPCL is targeting net-zero carbon emissions by 2040. "This bold target will require a phased investment of approximately Rs 1 lakh crore in renewable power, green hydrogen, compressed biogas, carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS), energy efficiency improvements, and carbon offsets."

The company has set aggressive targets to build 2 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2025 and 10 GW by 2035. It is investing nearly Rs 1,000 crore to establish two 50 MW captive wind power plants in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh and is also investing around Rs 300 crore in 72 MWp of solar project in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh.

"Parallelly, we are executing green hydrogen projects aligned with the National Green Hydrogen Mission. These projects include a 5 MW electrolyser plant at Bina Refinery and a Green Hydrogen refuelling station with an indigenously developed electrolyser at Kochi," he said.

After record earnings in 2023-24, and the first quarter of current fiscal "the operating environment has become significantly more challenging compared to the previous periods," he said. "The unprecedented refining margins we enjoyed last year, driven by favourable international product cracks, are currently under tremendous stress."

He however exuded confidence in the firm's ability to navigate these industry-specific hurdles and emerge stronger in the long run.

BPCL, he said, is committed to supporting the transition to electric mobility through a robust and accessible charging infrastructure. The company has already installed over 3,100 charging stations and plans to expand to 7,000 stations in the near future.

By introducing the innovative Highway Fast Charging Corridors concept, BPCL has expanded its EV fast charging network to around 900 stations across 120 key corridors, alleviating range anxiety for EV users.

"Over the next 5 years, we aim to install 4-wheeler fast chargers at approximately 6,000 retail outlets across 400 highway corridors, prioritizing high-traffic corridors like the Golden Quadrilateral and N-S/E-W highways," he said.