BPCL eyeing a new re nery, says Puri
Finding and producing more crude oil and gas to cut India’s import reliance, green hydrogen, natural gas and re†ning and petrochemicals will be the government’s most important priorities, says the Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas
State-owned Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (BPCL) is looking to build a new oil reffnery to meet the rising demand for fuels like petrol and diesel, Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said Tuesday as he took charge of the ministry for the second time.
He said ffnding and producing more oil and gas to cut India’s import reliance, green hydrogen, natural gas and reffning and petrochemicals would be the government’s top priorities.
Mr. Puri said attracting
investors to oil and gas exploration and production in the ongoing bid rounds as well as in unique tenders like the one oated by ONGC seeking a foreign
partner for raising output at one of India’s old ffelds, Mumbai High, would be high on the agenda.
Also, the push towards producing and increasing usage of green hydrogen, an alternative to fossil fuels that has zero emissions, would continue, he said, adding use of biofuels would also be encouraged.
Securing supplies
On securing supplies of crude oil, he said India had diversiffed its sources of supplies including from Russia. From buying less than a percentage of its total imports, India emerged as the biggest buyer of Russian sea-borne oil, snapping up barrels sold at a discount as some Western nations halted purchases after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
“We are a long-standing partner of the Russian federation. We have had discussions with the Russians on long-term deals,” he said. “I am conffdent that both our private and public sector players will sign long-term deals with countries where they see benefft in doing so.”
He said BPCL is looking to build its fourth oil reffnery in the country. “The details are being worked out,” he added.
BPCL operates reffneries at Mumbai, Kochi and Bina. It is aiming to raise reffning capacity from 39 million tonnes per annum to 45 million tonnes.