According to its chairman Pushp Joshi, the state-run Hindustan Petroleum Corporation plans to start using its 15 mtpa additional capacity at its Vizag refinery in southern India by the end of June.
He added that the refinery, which had a previous capacity of 8.33 mtpa, is currently commissioning units, and 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-fuelled boats in the River Ganges.
India, the third-largest oil importer and user in the world, imports more than 80% of its oil requirements. In order to meet the expanding fuel demand in Asia's third-largest economy, Indian refiners are spending billions of dollars upgrading their facilities.
"We market double than what we produce in the refineries so that (expansion) will help HPCL in becoming sufficient in refined products."
Joshi stated that the Vizag refinery's distillate yield will increase due to HPCL's residue upgradation project, which will be completed by the end of this year or in January 2024.
In order to diversify its business, HPCL is constructing a gas import terminal at Chhara in Gujarat's western state of Gujarat and an oil-to-chemical facility connected to its Vizag refinery.
Joshi predicted that the LNG terminal will be ready by the end of March, but that commissioning would take some time because a breakwater and a pipeline for gas evacuation have not yet been constructed.
"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.
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