The state-run Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL.NS) hopes to start its Vizag refinery in southern India at an additional capacity of 15 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) by the end of June, according to its chairman Pushp Joshi, Reuters reported.
He added that the refinery, which had a previous capacity of 8.33 mtpa and is currently commissioning units. As a result, HPCL’s crude imports will increase beginning in April of the following fiscal year.
“Our crude imports will go up as we expand capacity. We will buy from wherever we get at cheaper rates,” Joshi told reporters at an event to lunch gas-fueled boats in the River Ganges.
“We market double than what we produce in the refineries so that (expansion) will help HPCL in becoming sufficient in refined products.”
The HPCL tailings upgrade project at the Vizag refinery will improve distillate yields and will be ready by the end of this year or January 2024, Joshi said.
To expand its portfolio, HPCL is building a petrochemical facility linked to the Vizag refinery and a 5 mtpa gas import terminal at Chhara in western Gujarat.
Joshi said the LNG terminal will be ready by the end of March, but commissioning will take time as pipelines for gas discharge and breakwaters to protect ships from flooding still need to be built.
“We are looking at ways for operating the terminal and have floated a term sheet to import 1.5-2 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG),” he said.
