The expansions would add 60pc to HPCL's existing refining capacity of 540,000 b/d, which includes a 226,000 b/d joint-venture plant at Bhatinda in Punjab.
An expansion and upgrade that will boost capacity at the 166,000 b/d Visakhapatnam refinery to 300,000 b/d will be completed this year and a residue upgrade unit will be ready next year, chief executive MK Surana said. The 263bn rupees ($3.6bn) modernisation project at the refinery on India's southeast coast was scheduled for completion in mid-2020 but has been delayed by Covid-19.
The Visakhapatnam project will use LC-Max reactors from private-sector engineering firm Larsen & Toubro to upgrade heavy crudes to produce diesel that meets Euro-6 emissions standards, as well as increasing feedstock flexibility and improving product quality.
HPCL will also add 40,000 b/d of capacity at its 150,000 b/d Mumbai refinery in April-June this year. It has awarded major contracts for the new 180,000 b/d Barmer refinery in Rajasthan and expects to complete the plant by 2023.
The company's refinery throughput was 320,000 b/d in October-December, down slightly from 332,000 b/d a year earlier. HPCL's Bhatinda plant, a joint venture with private-sector Mittal group, is shut down for 35-45 days of maintenance and is scheduled to resume operations in March.
