Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd. (BPCL) has awarded Lummus Technology LLC a contract to provide a range of technologies for its ethylene and petrochemical production expansion at the Bina refinery in Madhya Pradesh, India.
Under the August 14 contract, Lummus will license its proprietary technologies for ethylene production, including low-pressure recovery, total C4 hydrogenation, pygas hydrogenation, and wet air-oxidation. These technologies will be utilized in BPCL’s grassroots ethylene plant and associated downstream units as part of the Bina Petrochemicals and Refinery Expansion Plan (BPREP). The expanded facility is expected to produce 1.2 million tonnes per year (tpy) of ethylene and 550,000 tpy of propylene.
In addition to licensing Sulzer Ltd.’s extractive distillation technology, Lummus will also handle the detailed engineering of the ethylene plant heater, provide advisory engineering services, and offer training.
While the contract value was not disclosed, Lummus noted that its involvement in BPREP will promote sustainable water-treatment solutions, enhance the efficiency of light olefins production, and support BPCL’s sustainability goals by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
The BPREP project, approved in 2023 with an investment of 490 billion rupees (nearly $6 billion), aims to expand the Bina refinery’s processing capacity to 11 million tpy. The project will focus on producing polymer-grade ethylene and propylene for downstream polymer production units. The foundation stone for BPREP was laid in mid-September 2023, and as of early August 2024, all critical technology licensors and project management consultants have been secured.
With contractors for site grading finalized, construction began in July 2024, aiming for completion by May 2028. The revised project cost is estimated at 433.67 billion rupees (about $5.2 billion), and upon completion, the complex will produce 1.15 million tpy of linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE), 550,000 tpy of polypropylene, and various aromatics, including benzene, toluene, and mixed xylenes. As of August 2024, the project’s physical progress is at
