Local protests hit world's largest refinery project by oil PSUs

Maharashtra still unsure about future of the proposed 60-mn-tonne facility; MoU kept in abeyance

In December 2016, the government’s three oil marketing companies — Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL), and Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL) — signed an agreement to set up a mega refinery, of 60 million tonnes capacity. Dharmendra Pradhan, the petroleum minister, had then said there was agreement on a location in the Konkan region of Maharashtra. 

More than a year later, public support for the project, to be set up in the Ratnagiri district, is missing. “The joint venture (JV) of the three companies has filed an intent with the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion to put up