NEW DELHI: Oil India Ltd, a state-run exploration company, is set to significantly expand its refinery operations in Assam. The company aims to increase the Assam Refinery’s capacity to 180,000 barrels per day (bpd) by the fiscal year ending March 2027, according to Chairman Ranjit Rath. This expansion is part of Oil India’s broader strategy to enhance its refining capabilities and explore new energy projects.
Numaligarh Refinery Ltd (NRL), a subsidiary of Oil India, is currently upgrading its plant from its existing capacity of 60,000 bpd. Additionally, a new crude oil pipeline is being constructed to connect the refinery with Paradip Port in Odisha, ensuring a smooth supply of raw materials. Both the refinery expansion and the pipeline are on track for completion by December 2025, Rath announced during a press conference.
To support the expanded refinery, Oil India plans to import approximately 110,000 bpd of crude oil. Beyond refining, the company is also investing in clean energy initiatives, with plans to allocate 250 billion rupees ($3 billion) by 2030 for various projects, including renewable energy ventures.
NRL is also developing a 50,000-tonne-per-year biorefinery in Assam, which will use bamboo as feedstock to produce ethanol. Production from this facility is expected to begin by the end of September, marking a significant step in the company’s clean energy transition.
In addition to serving northeastern India, NRL supplies diesel to Bangladesh through a pipeline with a capacity of 1 million tonnes per year. Despite ongoing political unrest in Bangladesh, Rath confirmed that diesel supplies remain unaffected, with the necessary letters of credit in place to ensure continued exports.
Oil India also holds stakes in two upstream projects in Russia—Vankorneft and Tass-Yuryakh. The company is owed $250 million in dividends from these ventures, which are currently held in an Indian bank’s Moscow branch, awaiting repatriation. Other Indian firms involved in the projects are similarly waiting for a total of $600 million in dividends, Rath noted.