Andhra pips BJP-ruled UP, Gujarat to bag BPCL refinery project with investment potential of Rs 95,000 cr

A unique investment agreement is signed between the Andhra Pradesh government and the state-owned Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd for developing a Greenfield oil refinery and petrochemicals complex. Notably, Andhra Pradesh has outdone BJP states like Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat to be the first to jump after such a mega project that is set to bring total investments to nearly Rs 95,000 cores in the years to come.

The ruling party in the state TDP is also a major ally for the BJP-led NDA government in the Centre. The proposal by the BPCL company board to facilitate the settler of its refinery-cum-petrochemical complex in Andhra Pradesh was on Tuesday approved.

In a filing with SEBI, the market regulator, BPCL reported that the board of the corporation has approved pre-project activities for the greenfield refinery and petrochemical complex in Andhra Pradesh on the east coast with an investment of around Rs 6,100 crore.

The pre-project activities will involve carrying out preliminary studies, land identification and acquisition, preparation of a comprehensive feasibility report, environmental impact assessment, a basic design engineering package, and front-end engineering design.

BPCL would require approximately 4,000 acres to 5,000 acres of land to plant the refinery. Sources say that the Andhra Pradesh government had offered them property near the new port at Ramayapatnam in Nellore. Currently, BPCL operates three refineries: Mumbai, Kochi, and Bina, Madhya Pradesh-with a combined annual refining capacity of approximately 36 MMTPA; the new proposed Andhra Pradesh refinery may be up to 9 MMTPA in capacity.