Context: With a view to double India’s refining capacity for crude oil to 450-500 million tonnes per annum by 2030, the construction of a new refinery in Ratnagiri, Maharashtra with a refining capacity of 60 million tonnes per annum is set to start soon.
Why is this boost in capacity needed?

• India’s current refining capacity of 249.9 million tonnes per annum.
• It exceeds domestic consumption of petroleum products which was 213.7 million tonnes in the previous fiscal.
• However, India’s consumption of petroleum products is estimated to rise to 335 million tonnes per annum by 2030 and to 472 million tonnes by 2040.
• Hence, India needs to boost refining capacity to meet growing demand.

How will this be achieved?

• The new refinery project in Ratnagiri is one of the key projects in the planned expansion of oil refinery.
• It has received investment from Saudi Arabia and the UAE’s national oil companies — Saudi Aramco and ADNOC respectively.
• The companies together own 50 per cent of the project while the remaining 50 per cent is owned by Indian PSUs, Indian Oil Corporation Ltd., Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd.
• A key project includes a joint venture between HPCL and the Rajasthan government for a new refinery in Barmer Rajasthan with a refining capacity of 9 million tonnes per annum.
• Other includes major expansion projects in existing refineries in Panipat, Paradip and Koyali.

Roadblock: Many of the projects by the state-run oil refiners have delayed in the past because of issues in acquiring the required land as well as in obtaining environmental clearances.