SBI receives mandate to raise Rs 4,000 crore for BPCL's petrochemical plan

26-Dec-14

State-run Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) is planning to raise Rs 4,000 crore for the expansion of its Kochi refinery and to fund its petrochemicals venture. State Bank of India (SBI) has received the mandate to raise funds. BPCL plans to diversify into downstream petrochemicals with an investment of Rs 4,588 crores. The public sector refiner is planning to produce niche petrochemicals such as acrylic acid, acrylates and oxo alcohols, using the polymer grade propylene that will be available after the ongoing integrated refinery expansion project (IREP) is completed. The company will invest around Rs 14,225 crore in its expansion at the Kochi refinery and Rs 5,000 crore for setting up a petrochemical joint venture. BPCL is in the process of increasing the refining capacity of Kochi refinery from 9.5 mln tpa to 15.5 mtpa under IREP project and improve the auto-fuel quality to Euro-IV/V levels to meet the growing demand of petroleum products in Indian market. This would also upgrade the refinery residue stream to value added distillates, which BPCLis planning to use for diversification into value-added petrochemical products.