New Delhi: The Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri, has expressed his appreciation for India's growing self-reliance in the energy sector.
Utilizing social media, the Minister highlighted the expansion of refining capabilities at Barauni, Panipat, and Gujarat Refineries, noting that these projects are progressing at a rapid pace.
In a video presentation, the Minister discussed the regular installation of heavy and complex machinery, indicating a significant shift towards the modernization of India's energy infrastructure.
In his statement, the Minister acknowledged, "The pieces are aligning to facilitate India's remarkable journey towards achieving energy self-sufficiency, under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The expansion of refineries at Barauni (from 6 to 9 million metric tonnes per year), Panipat (up to 25 million metric tonnes per year), and the Gujarat Refinery (up to 18 million metric tonnes per year) is underway. This expansion is set to significantly enhance the crude processing capacity of Indian Oil Company (IOC) and secure India's energy requirements in the forthcoming years."
Indian Oil Company is in the process of expanding the refining capacities at its refineries in Barauni, Panipat, and Vadodara in Gujarat.
The company is investing a total of Rs 14,800 crore in the expansion of its Barauni refinery, which will increase its refining capacity from 6 million metric tonnes per year to 9 million metric tonnes per year.
The Panipat refinery is undergoing an expansion to increase its refining capacity from 15 metric tonnes per year to 25 metric tonnes per year, in addition to constructing a 450,000 tonne per year polypropylene (PP) plant. The company has reported in its stock exchange filings that the Panipat project is expected to be completed by December 2025, with an original completion date of September 2024.
The expansion of the Gujarat refinery from 13.7 million metric tonnes per year to 18 million metric tonnes per year has been completed with an investment of Rs 17,825 crore.
Information available on the IOC website indicates that the company is currently executing 2814 projects, with a cumulative investment of Rs 2,05,100 crore.
