Indian state-owned refiner HPCL plans another expansion at its Visakhapatnam (Vizag) refinery, and will raise its capacity to 401,000 b/d in the next five years from the current 301,000 b/d, the refinery's executive director Ramanathan Ramakrishnan said.
The refinery underwent an expansion in 2023 when its capacity was raised to 270,000 b/d.
Crude processing at the refinery was up by 21pc on the year at 307,000 b/d in the April 2024-March 2025 fiscal year, oil ministry data show.
The refinery will be processing more than 321,000 b/d of crude in the 2025-26 fiscal year and 361,000 b/d over the next five years to meet the country's increasing energy demand, Ramakrishnan said on 16 June.
Under the expansion plan, the refinery will add a 9mn t crude distillation unit, a 3mn t vacuum gas oil hydrocracker, a 3.55mn t residue upgradation facility, gas turbine generators, two trains of hydrogen, a sulphur recovery unit, an isomerization unit and associated tankages and facilities.
HPCL expects to commission the residue upgradation unit at its refinery by July-September 2025.
While the refinery does not have a petrochemical complex due to space constraints, HPCL intends to produce specialty chemicals and continue focusing on producing gasoline and diesel.
The construction of HPCL's 180,000b/d refinery in Barmer is expected to be completed soon and the plant is expected to take in crude by October. The refinery is a joint venture between HPCL with a 74pc stake and the Rajasthan state government with 26pc.
HPCL also has a 190,000 b/d refinery in Mumbai, and a 226,000 b/d refinery in Punjab in a joint venture with Mittal Energy.
HPCL's sales of oil products in domestic markets rose by 6pc on the year to 47.29mn t in April 2024-March 2025.
