Naidu Says Ramayapatnam BPCL Refinery Will Be an Ultra-Mega Project
Involving an investment of about Rs 1.45 lakh crore, the project is expected to produce Euro 6-compliant fuels.
Vijayawada: Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has directed Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) to expedite work on its Greenfield refinery-cum-petrochemical complex near Ramayapatnam Port, saying the project should be developed keeping future petrochemical demand in mind.
BPCL chairman and managing director Sanjay Khanna, who met the CM, said the integrated refinery project, coming up between Prakasam and Nellore districts, would have a refining capacity of nine million tonnes per annum (MMTPA) and involve an investment of about Rs 1.45 lakh crore.
Final environmental clearance is expected by the end of September, while the final investment cost is likely to be firmed up in October after Engineering India Limited submits its report. Construction would begin thereafter.
The BPCL project is expected to produce Euro 6-compliant fuels. Motor spirit, high-speed diesel, and aviation turbine fuel together would account for about 5.4 million tonnes, while other petrochemical products would total around 3.2 million tonnes. By-products would include HDPE, LDPE, LLDPE, polypropylene, and polyvinyl chloride.
The AP Chief Minister told Sanjay Khanna that 75 per cent of the 6,000 acres required for the refinery have already been handed over to BPCL. The balance land would be given to the company by the second week of October. Chandrababu Naidu asked officials and BPCL representatives to speed up all processes and start construction at the earliest.
Further, the CM proposed a downstream petrochemicals park on about 1,500 acres near the refinery. In this regard, he asked BPCL and the Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) to jointly prepare a plan.
Naidu pointed out that rapid urbanisation and expansion of manufacturing would drive petrochemical demand in India. With petrochemical intensity expected to rise from about five per cent currently to 15–20 per cent over the next decade, he called for a refinery designed to maximise production of chemical feedstock, such as ethylene and propylene, rather than focusing only on fuels.
The Chief Minister stressed on the need to move beyond basic polymers and cater to the growing demand for advanced materials.
Khanna said the country’s chemical and petrochemical sector could reach $1 trillion by 2040. BPCL is working to meet the emerging demand.
Those present included BPCL director (Finance) V.R.K. Gupta, AP refinery executive director Rajeev, GM (Retail) T. Chaturvedi, and Industries secretary Yuvaraj.
