 "BPCL clears decks for Rs 95k cr Ramayapatnam refinery in Andhra Pradesh")
State-run Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) board on Tuesday cleared the decks to kick off pre-project activities for its plans to set up a Rs 95,000-crore greenfield refinery at Ramayapatnam in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh, with a capacity of 9 million tonnes per annum (MTPA).
The company said in a statement that it will be investing around Rs 6,100 crore in pre-project activities for the refinery. The new refinery and petrochemical complex in Andhra Pradesh will be one of the largest refineries on the east coast of India, after the 15 MTPA Paradip refinery by Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) in Odisha and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation's Visakhapatnam refinery in Andhra Pradesh, the capacity of which is being extended to 15 MTPA.
As per the company’s stock exchange filing on Tuesday, the pre-project activities consist of various initial studies, land identification and acquisition, preparation of a detailed feasibility report, environmental impact assessment, basic design engineering package, and front-end engineering design. Additionally, the BPCL refinery was a commitment made under the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act 2014.
This comes after media reports indicated that Saudi Arabia is looking to invest in an upcoming BPCL refinery as part of its strategy to expand its energy footprint in India. The West Asian country had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with India in 2019 to invest $100 billion in sectors such as agriculture, infrastructure, manufacturing, and energy.
BPCL is looking to expand its refinery capacity owing to a gap in its refinery throughput and sales, which was reportedly seen at 39.9 million tonnes in 2023-24, compared to its sales of 51.04 million tonnes. At present, it has three refineries in Mumbai, Kochi, and Bina, with capacities of 13 MTPA, 15.5 MTPA, and 7.8 MTPA, respectively.
BPCL wins NTPC tender
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On the same day, BPCL informed that it participated in state-owned NTPC's tender for the selection of solar power generators to establish 1,200 megawatts (MW) inter-state transmission system (ISTS)-connected solar photovoltaic (PV) power projects across India. The company emerged as the lowest bidder for a capacity of 150 MW during the reverse auction.
As per the company’s exchange filing, upon finalisation of the contract, the project will be developed over a two-year timeline at an estimated capital outlay of Rs 756.45 crore and is projected to generate annual revenue of approximately Rs 100 crore by producing around 400 million units of clean energy.
“This milestone highlights BPCL’s commitment to advancing renewable energy initiatives and contributing to India’s clean energy transition,” the company stated.
Earlier, the state-run corporation reported revenue of Rs 1.18 trillion and a consolidated net profit of Rs 2,297.2 crore.