New Delhi: The government is looking at building “small” refineries as an option to address land and other constraints as the country eyes 450 million tonnes of annual refining capacity, Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Tuesday.
“(Big) refineries are high cost (proposal). We are looking for 20 million metric tonne per annum capacity refineries in large numbers which are small. If we make it too big then land acquisition and other issues come up .
Singh said India could plan a capacity of 300 million tonnes per annum, which is 20% more than the current capacity of 252 million tonnes. “We need to take some more policy decisions to take it up to 450 MMTPA (target),” he said.
At present, India’s refining capacity is 252 MMTPA.
Puri’s statement belied frustration over a stalled proposal by a consortium of state-owned oil companies to build a mega-refinery of 60 million tonnes per annum capacity. Ratnagiri in Maharashtra.
“We need refineries as they will make petrochemicals, green hydrogen etc,” he said, adding that India has become a global green energy hub.
Speaking at the same event, Pankaj Kalra, CEO of Essar Exploration and Production Limited, said that India saw a 13% increase in annual gas production and the company then contributed about 65% of India’s overall CBM (Coal Bed Methane) production. . “We plan to increase our production by about five times in the next three to five years and contribute 5% of the total production in India.”
“(Big) refineries are high cost (proposal). We are looking for 20 million metric tonne per annum capacity refineries in large numbers which are small. If we make it too big then land acquisition and other issues come up .
Singh said India could plan a capacity of 300 million tonnes per annum, which is 20% more than the current capacity of 252 million tonnes. “We need to take some more policy decisions to take it up to 450 MMTPA (target),” he said.
At present, India’s refining capacity is 252 MMTPA.
Puri’s statement belied frustration over a stalled proposal by a consortium of state-owned oil companies to build a mega-refinery of 60 million tonnes per annum capacity. Ratnagiri in Maharashtra.
“We need refineries as they will make petrochemicals, green hydrogen etc,” he said, adding that India has become a global green energy hub.
Speaking at the same event, Pankaj Kalra, CEO of Essar Exploration and Production Limited, said that India saw a 13% increase in annual gas production and the company then contributed about 65% of India’s overall CBM (Coal Bed Methane) production. . “We plan to increase our production by about five times in the next three to five years and contribute 5% of the total production in India.”