IOC raising refining capacity by 25% to meet 1/8th of India's oil needs by 2025

New Delhi: State-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) plans to raise oil refining capacity by a quarter to meet rising energy needs of India, the world's fastest growing economy, its chairman Shrikant Madhav Vaidya said on Friday. The firm, which has nine refineries to convert crude oil into fuels like petrol and diesel, 20,000 kilometers of pipelines to transport oil and fuel, 99 LPG bottling plants, 129 aviation fuel stations and over 61,000 customer touchpoints like petrol pumps and LPG agencies, is aiming to meet one-eighth of India's energy needs by 2050, he said.

India's oil demand is likely to surge from 5.4 million barrels per day in 2023 to 8.3 million bpd by 2050. "To meet this rise, we aim to increase our refining capacity from 70.25 million tonne per annum to 88 million tonne per annum, while scaling up both convention and non-conventional energy options," he said addressing shareholders at the company's annual general meeting. The nation's largest oil firm is targeting to become a $1 trillion company by 2047, combining growth in traditional oil refining and fuel marketing with clean energy avenues like green hydrogen and EV charging. IOC posted a record net profit of Rs 39,619 crore ( $4.7 billion) on a revenue of Rs 8.66 lakh crore ( $104.6 billion) in 2023-24 (April 2023 to March 2024) fiscal.

The company will continue to invest in fossil fuels and new energy avenues to have a balanced portfolio that will help achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2046, Vaidya said. Besides expanding oil refining capacity, it will invest in petrochemical units that will convert crude oil into value-added chemicals directly, while also increasing its focus on gas, biofuels and clean mobility. "We are also integrating petrochemicals into our refining operations. This oil-to-chemical approach will enrich our value chain, meet rising petrochemical demand, reduce import reliance, and insulate the bottom line from the impacts of oil price fluctuations," he said. IOC is investing over Rs 61,000 crore in setting up a mega petrochemical complex in Paradip, Odisha. "This and the other petrochemical projects will be a game changer for us," he said. In 2023-24, the firm commissioned the first phase of naphtha cracker expansion and Px-PTA revamp project in Panipat, Haryana and ethylene glycol plant at Paradip.

"These have propelled our petrochemical intensity index to 6.1 per cent," he said. "By 2030, our aim is to achieve an index of 15 per cent and expand the petrochemical capacity to 14 million tonne." Alongside, it will pursue green initiatives, including hydrogen mobility, hydrogen transportation, biofuels, electric mobility, solar cooktops and minimising water footprint. "Our endeavours during the past year vividly illustrate our commitment to achieving operational net-zero by 2046," Vaidya said. The firm aims to enhance its renewable energy capacity to 31 GW by 2030, primarily through solar and wind projects. IOC has formed a joint venture with Israeli technology company Phinergy for aluminium-air batteries and with Panasonic Energy of Japan for advanced cell manufacturing of lithium-ion batteries in India. On hydrogen, the firm is looking to convert half of its current hydrogen consumption to green by 2030. IOC is betting big on battery swapping solutions, particularly for the two and three-wheeler segment, with plans to expand this avenue for heavy-duty vehicle applications.