Bharat Petroleum Corp (BPCL) has set a target of increasing its refining capacity to 50 million tonne per annum with an investment of Rs 40,000 crore over the next five years as part of its overall Rs 1 trillion <g data-gr-id="30">capex</g> plan under ‘Project Sankalp’. The PSU, which currently has a refining capacity of 30 million tonne per annum (<g data-gr-id="31">mtpa</g>), has earmarked a whopping Rs 1 trillion <g data-gr-id="32">capex</g> by 2021 under ‘Project Sankalp’, primarily focusing on brownfield expansion. This is double the <g data-gr-id="33">capex</g> amount it had spent in the past five years.
“We plan to increase our refining capacity to 50 <g data-gr-id="26">mtpa</g> from 30 <g data-gr-id="27">mtpa</g> now by investing Rs 40,000 crore in brownfield expansion by 2021. Our total <g data-gr-id="28">capex</g> under Project Sankalp is Rs 1 trillion during the next five years,” Chairman and Managing Director S Varadarajan said here. Of the Rs 1-trillion <g data-gr-id="29">capex</g>, the refiner plans to spend Rs 25,000 crore for upstream development, including developing its Brazilian and Mozambique oil and gas fields and buying more oil equity abroad.
The remaining amount will go into marketing spends, which will see a lot of money being put into ramping up its non-fuel retail venture under the In & Out brand, Varadarajan said on the sidelines of the company’s AGM. The Rs 40,000 crore refining expansion will not see BPCL setting up any new project but scaling capacity to 1 million barrels a day, or 50 <g data-gr-id="25">mtpa</g>.
While work on expanding its capacity in Kochi to 15 mt is on <g data-gr-id="24">course</g>, the Bina capacity will be increased from 6 mt to 15 mt and Numaligarh to 9 mt from 3 mt. Project Sankalp also includes the refiner branching out heavily into the <g data-gr-id="22">petrochem</g> sector, which will be marked by a Rs 6,000-crore project at Kochi.
These investments will also be used to expand the city gas distribution business and establishing BPCL as an oil and gas explorer and producer.
Green nod for OIL’s Jaisalmer gas production
Oil India Ltd (OIL) has received environment clearance for drilling 20 wells in three blocks in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan for <g data-gr-id="57">production</g> of 1 <g data-gr-id="59">mmscmd</g> gas at an estimated cost of Rs 96 crore. The wells will be drilled in <g data-gr-id="60">Dandewala</g>, Bagitibba and <g data-gr-id="61">Tanot</g> mining lease blocks in <g data-gr-id="62">Tanot</g> village in Jaisalmer. “The Ministry of Environment and Forest has given environmental clearance to OIL for development drilling of 20 wells in Jaisalmer as per the provisions of EIA notification,” a government official said.