Bharat Petroleum mulls 1.5 mln tpa naphtha cracker at INR 6,000 - 7,000 crore in Bina

20-Feb-17

State-run Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd (BPCL) plans to set up a petrochemicals unit at its Bina refinery in Madhya Pradesh as part of its Rs25,000 crore expansion plan for the refinery. The petrochemical unit, which will include a 1.5 mln tpa naphtha cracker, is expected to cost Rs6,000-7,000 crore.
“The investments could be made through a special purpose vehicle or issue of warrants. We are continuously evaluating the model to be followed here,” said one of the two officials cited above on condition of anonymity. Bharat Oman Refineries Ltd, a joint venture of BPCL and Oman Oil Co., runs the Bina refinery. While BPCL holds 49% in the venture, Oman Oil owns 26%. Financial institutions own the remaining 25%. BPCL did not respond to an emailed questionnaire sent on 25 January seeking comments.

BPCL is also expanding refining capacity at its Kochi refinery from to 15.5 mtpa from 9.5 mtpa for an investment of Rs16,000 crore. It will also build a Rs 5,000 crore petrochemical plant in Kochi. When completed, it will facilitate production of 500,000 tonnes per annum of propylene, which is in addition to fuels like cooking gas, diesel, kerosene, jet fuel, coke and bitumen. The expansion would be complete by March. Last April, the government approved BPCL’s investment of Rs3,000 crore in Bharat Oman Refineries for the first phase of expansion.