BPCL to add petrochemical capacity at Bina refinery

Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd. (BPCL) has approved a project to add petrochemical production capacity at its 7.8-million tonne/year (tpy) refinery at Bina, Madya Pradesh, India.

At a meeting of the company’s board on May 15, BPCL approved an investment of 490 billion rupees (nearly $6 billion) for an ethylene cracker project at the Bina refinery that, alongside a cracker, would include the addition of other downstream petrochemical plants as well as an expansion of the refinery, the operator said in separate regulatory filings to BSE Ltd. and the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd.

While the operator has yet to reveal further details regarding either the capacities and types of the proposed cracker and downstream units or the precise nature of the planned refinery expansion, BPCL told investors in a December 2022 presentation that it planned to invest 380 billion rupees to add about 2.8 million tpy of petrochemical production capacity to its refining operations between 2022-27.

The newly approved Bina ethylene cracker project, however, remains dependent on various factors, including clearances from statutory authorities, if required, according to the filings.

BPCL took control of the Bina refinery in 2021 after buying out joint-venture partner OQ SAOC (formerly known as Oman Oil Co. SAOC) to take 100% ownership of equity share capital in former operator Bharat Oman Refineries Ltd. (OGJ Online, Apr. 2, 2021).

Other investments

In addition to the ethylene project at Bina, BPCL’s board also approved a separate combined investment of a 9.78-billion rupee project on May 15 that would involve setting up 50-Mw wind power plants for captive consumption at both its Bina refinery and the 12-million tpy refinery in Mumbai, Maharastra, India.

To provide the sites green energy, one wind power plant would be added at Bina and Mumbai, each at a cost of 4.89 billion rupees, according to the operator.

The board additionally approved a 19.03-billion rupee project that would add storage installations as well as receipt pipelines for both petroleum oil lubricants (POL) and lube base oil stocks (LOBS) at Rasayani, Maharashtra.

As with the Bina cracker project, the wind power plant and POL-LOBS projects remain contingent on other factors, including necessary regulatory clearances, BPCL said.