Indian Oil plans to double refining capacity to 123 MT/year by FY-21

State-run Indian Oil Corp (IOC), the nation's largest oil firm, plans to double its refining capacity to 123 million tonnes a year by 2020-21, its Director (Refineries) Rajkumar Ghosh said yesterday.
IOC has eight refineries with a combined capacity of 54.2 million tonnes (MT). After including its subsidiary company unit at Chennai, it has a total refining capacity of 64.7 MT.
The company "will take up its refining capacity to the level of 123 MT per year by 2020-21", a company press statement quoted Ghosh as saying.
The additional capacity would come from 15 MT a year new refinery being constructed at Paradip in Orissa by September, 2013 and another similar capacity unit planned on the West coast.
Also, IOC plans to raise its Gujarat refinery capacity to 18 MT by 2016-17 from current 13.7 MT. The capacity would in the next phase be raised to 23 MT by 2020-21, Ghosh said.
Besides, it has planned expansion of several of its unit, including raising capacity at Mathura refinery to 11 MT from current 8 MT.
"IOC refineries collectively are processing crude oil in excess of their design capacity for past five years and there has been sustained improved in the energy conservation management at refineries in spite of meeting stringent quality parameters," he said.
Gujarat refinery which commissioned IOC's first Petrochemical Plant of Linear Alkyl Benzene (LAB) successfully is also considering setting up of PX-PTA plant to add value to its hydrocarbon chain, he added.
IOC last year regained its position as the nation's biggest refiner after it completed expansion of its Panipat unit to 15 MT from 12 MT.
Before the expansion, IOC's eight refineries had a total crude oil refining capacity of 51.2 million tonnes a year and together with its subsidiary Chennai Petroleum Corp Ltd ( CPCL), it had a combined refining capacity of 61.7 million tonnes.
IOC was the largest oil refiner in the country before Reliance started its 29 MT a year only-for-exports unit adjacent to its 33 MT a year plant at Jamnagar.
Source: PTI