IOC to invest Rs 740 crore to raise Digboi refinery capacity in Assam

State-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) will invest over Rs 740 crore to raise the capacity of the nation's oldest oil refinery at Digboi in Assam.

In a stock exchange filing, IOC said its board has approved raising of Digboi refinery capacity from 0.65 million tonnes per annum to 1 million tonnes along with associated facilities at an estimated cost of Rs 740.20 crore.

"The project is expected to be commissioned by October 2025," it said. "The capacity expansion would improve the profitability of the Digboi refinery."

Digboi refinery was commissioned on December 11, 1901, and is India's oldest operating refinery and one of the oldest operating refineries in the world.

Previously owned and operated by the Assam Oil Company Limited/Burmah Oil Company, it came into the IOC fold by an Act of Parliament on October 14, 1981, and became the Assam Oil Division of the company.

According to the IOC website, the refinery processes waxy crude extracted from oil fields operating in areas nearby Digboi. It also started processing crude condensate in 2018.

Digboi refinery's current product portfolio includes LPG, petrol and diesel, fuel oil and sulfur.

IOC is the nation's largest oil refining and fuel marketing company. It owns and operates 10 oil refineries with a cumulative capacity of 80.55 million tonnes per annum. This makes up for about 32 per cent of India's oil refining capacity of about 250 million tonnes.