Indian Firms Plan to Invest US$ 27 Billion to Boost Refining Capacity by 2025

India’s state refiners plan to invest Rs. 2 trillion (US$ 26.96 billion) by 2025 to increase oil refining capacity by 20% in Asia’s third-largest economy, according to Mr. Rameswar Teli, Minister of State Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.

India, the world’s third-largest importer and consumer of oil, has a refining capacity of around 249 million tonnes per year, or around 5 million barrels per day (bpd). In a written response, Mr. Teli stated that refining capacity is scheduled to increase to 298 million tonnes per year by 2025.

“For refining cost reduction and product upgrading, the refining sector has been continuously modernized and improved with indigenous and foreign technologies,” he said.

Indian Oil Corp, the country’s largest refiner, said in its latest annual report that it plans to increase its annual oil refining capacity from 70.05 million tonnes to 87.55 million tonnes by 2024/25 to meet rising demand for petroleum products.

According to a report released earlier this year by the International Energy Agency, India will be the primary driver of rising energy demand over the next two decades, accounting for 25% of global growth and on track to overtake the European Union as the world’s third-largest energy consumer by 2030.

By 2024/25, it will have virtually doubled its petrochemical capacity of 3.2 million tonnes per year by adding another 3.1 million tonnes.