Bharat Petroleum to Open New Refinery and Increase Production

MUMBAI, India - June 17, 2024 - PRLog -- In a bid to increase petroleum production in the country and in line with the "Atmanirbhar" (self-reliance) mission launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd will open one more refinery in the country, announced Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of Petroleum. However, more details of this refinery are awaited and the petroleum ministry and BPCL are expected to make an announcement soon.

"The company aims to increase its crude oil refining capacity from 39 million tons annum to 45 million tons, and the new refinery is part of this expansion plan," the minister added. State-owned Bharat Petroleum is a Maharatna company and ranks among the largest hydrocarbon fuel refiners in the world. Additionally, the company also makes Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) for domestic and commercial uses as well as a wide range of fuels such as diesel, Aviation Turbine Fuel and kerosene.

Currently, BPCL operates refineries at Mumbai, Kochi in Kerala, and Bina in Madhya Pradesh. The fourth refinery is likely to be opened in Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat or Orissa and is likely to cost the company around Rs.500 billion and will be a state-of-the-art facility. "The details are being worked out," the minister added.

The minister ruled out the privatization of BPCL. "Why would we divest ourselves of highly successful Maharatna companies such as BPCL," he said, adding BPCL has made more money in the first three quarters than the stake sale amount," Puri said.

BPCL's profit after tax for FY 2023-24 came in at 26,673 crores, nearly 13 times higher than the previous fiscal year. Additionally, the company's planned capital outlay of 1.7 lakh crores over 5 years under 'Project Aspire' underlines its commitment to creating long-term value for shareholders. The company also has a superb range of automobile lubricants (https://www.bharatpetroleum.in/Our-Businesses/MAK-Lubrica...) under its MAK brand.

The combined profit of the public sector oil marketing companies including BPCL. for FY 2023-24 stood at Rs 860 billion, over 25 times higher than the extraordinarily difficult previous fiscal year. For the first time, the combined net profit of listed state-owned firms has surpassed Rs 500 billion in FY24, marking their best-ever performance. Bharat Petroleum has contributed significantly to this growth.

Meanwhile Puri said that India will continue to reduce its dependence on imported refined petroleum products even as the country boosts its refining capacity through BPCL and other players in the hydrocarbons energy sector. India will continue securing economically priced crude from Russia to ensure domestic petroleum prices including those sold by BPCL remain affordable for the people.