BPCL plans $11 bln refinery proj in South India

Sembcorp Industries

27/12/2024 01:32

(Repeats story from Thursday with no changes to text)
    By Nidhi Verma and Manoj Kumar
       NEW DELHI, Dec 26 (Reuters) - India's Bharat Petroleum
Corp  BPCL.NS  plans to invest $11 billion in southern Andhra
Pradesh state for a new refinery and petrochemical project to
meet rising fuel demand in the world's fastest-growing major
economy, its chairman said.
    India wants to emerge as a major refining hub supplying fuel
to the global markets as Western companies are cutting crude
processing capacities in favour of energy transition. 
    "We feel there is a big opportunity in refining sector.
India's primary energy demand itself is also going to increase
three to four times as its economy expands," G. Krishnakumar
told Reuters in an interview.
    India aspires to be a developed nation by 2047 with its GDP
rising to $30 trillion from the current $3.8 trillion.
    BPCL has started pre-project work including land purchase to
build at least a 9 million metric ton per year (tpy) refinery
and ethylene cracker in Andhra Pradesh, he said.
    The project will have a 35% petrochemical intensity and
could cost 900 billion-950 billion rupees ($10.56 billion-$11.14
billion).
    The company operates three refineries in India with combined
capacity of 35.3 million tpy. It also buys fuels from a 3
million tpy Numaligarh refinery in the northeast.
    Krishnakumar said about 80% output from the proposed Andhra
complex will be sold in southern India that houses petchem
developers and automobile makers.
    Indian refiners are raising petrochemical productions as the
nation's per capita consumption is set to rise with increased
manufacturing.
    BPCL is also exploring setting up a refinery in a joint
venture with state-run exploration company Oil and Natural Gas
Corp  ONGC.NS  in northern Uttar Pradesh state, while pushing
for clean energy goals, he said.
    Refining expansion will help BPCL cut its dependence on fuel
purchases from other companies, as it buys a fifth of 50 million
tpy of refined fuels sold through its retails stations.
    Krishnakumar said BPCL will aggressively bid for renewable
projects tendered by the government and could acquire companies
to meet its target of 10 Gigawatts clean energy projects by
2035. 
    It has announced a joint venture with Sembcorp  SEMB.NS  to
expand its renewable energy portfolio of 300 megawatts.
    Krishnakumar hoped that the operations at the $20 billion
Mozambique liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, led by France's
TotalEnergies  TTEF.PA , would start in the first quarter of
2025 with monetisation of gas in 2028-29.
    BPCL along with other Indian companies hold 30% stake in
Mozambique project.
    ($1 = 85.2540 Indian rupees)

 (Reporting by Nidhi Verma, Editing by Angus MacSwan)
 ((nidhi.verma@thomsonreuters.com; +91 11 49548031; Reuters
Messaging: nidhi.verma.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))