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India is the fourth largest refiner of crude oil and the third largest consumer of crude oil in the world. Hence, it’s natural that the country would have a superb network of oil refineries. As a matter of fact, India is home to some 23 oil refineries spread across the country. These oil refineries are based offshore as well as onshore. Ranking among these are the fifth and sixth largest refineries in the world as well.
In this article, I will be highlighting some of the facets of crude oil consumption in India and the number of oil refineries in the country.
India’s Oil Wealth
According to various sources, crude oil reserves of India stood at around 620 million tons in 2019. These are mainly in offshore oil fields in the Arabian Sea and onshore reserves in Assam and Rajasthan. However, the country also imports around 75 percent of its total oil from countries in the Middle East and other places in the world.
In India, most petroleum companies are in the Public Sector.
However, in recent years, a few private sector companies such as Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), Reliance Petroleum Ltd (RPL) and Essar Energy have entered the energy field.
RIL's existing 34 MMTPA Jamnagar oil refinery is the fifth largest oil refinery in the world. while RPL's Jamnagar refinery is said to be the the sixth largest in the world
India also produced 34.2 million tons of crude oil in 2018-19. Offshore and onshore fields produced 16.9 and 17.3 million tons respectively.
Onshore oil is mainly produced in Assam and Gujarat. RIL and RPL announced a merger of the two companies in 2009 positioning the company as the 13th largest oil refiner in the world. Indian Oil, India's second largest oil refining company, is ranked 19th globally.
India's oil refining capacity amounted to 249 Million Metric Ton Per Annum (MTPA) in 2018-2019, ranking India as the fourth largest in the world after the US, China and Russia. Total refined crude output was 257 million tons in 2018-19 which is over 100 percent of installed annual capacity.
List of Oil Refineries in India
Below is a chart that shows all the 23 oil refineries across India and their owners. As you can see, most of the oil refineries in India are owned by the Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. Some are owned by private players in the energy sector while the state governments are joint stakeholders in a few.
| No | Refinery | Owner | Sector | Location | State | Capacity |
| 1 | Jamnagar Refinery | RIL (Exports) | Private | Jamnagar | Gujarat | 35.4 MTPA |
| 2 | Jamnagar Refinery | RIL (Domestic) | Private | Jamnagar | Gujarat | 33 MTPA |
| 3 | Essar Refinery | Essar Energy Ltd | Private | Vadinar | Gujarat | 20 MTPA |
| 4 | Kochi Refinery | Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd | Public | Kochi | Kerala | 15.5 MTPA |
| 5 | Mangalore Refinery | ONGC | Public | Mangalore | Karnataka | 15 MTPA |
| 6 | Paradip Refinery | Indian Oil Corporation Ltd | Public | Paradip | Odisha | 15 MTPA |
| 7 | Panipat Refinery | Indian Oil Corporation Ltd | Public | Panipat | Haryana | 15 MTPA |
| 8 | Gujarat Refinery | Indian Oil Corporation Ltd | Public | Vadodara | Gujarat | 13.7 MTPA |
| 9 | Mumbai Refinery | Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd | Public | Mumbai | Maharashtra | 12 MTPA |
| 10 | Guru Gobind Singh Refinery | Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd | Public | Bathinda | Punjab | 11.3 MTPA |
| 11 | Manali Refinery | Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd | Public | Chennai | Tamil Nadu | 10.5 MTPA |
| 12 | Vishakapatnam Refinery | Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd | Public | Vishakapatnam | Andhra Pradesh | 8.3 MTPA |
| 13 | Mathura Refinery | Indian Oil Corporation Ltd | Public | Mathura | Uttar Pradesh | 8 MTPA |
| 14 | Haldia Refinery | Indian Oil Corporation Ltd | Public | Haldia | West Bengal | 8 MTPA |
| 15 | Bina Refinery | Bharat-Oman Refinery Ltd | Public | Bina | Madhya Pradesh | 7.8 MTPA |
| 16 | Mumbai Refinery | Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd | Public | Mumbai | Maharashtra | 7.5 MTPA |
| 17 | Barauni Refinery | Indian Oil Corporation Ltd | Public | Barauni | Bihar | 6 MTPA |
| 18 | Numaligarh Refinery | Oil India Corporation & Government of Assam | Public | Numaligarh | Assam | 3 MTPA |
| 19 | Bongaigaon Refinery | Indian Oil Corporation Ltd | Public | Bongaigaon | Assam | 2.35 MTPA |
| 20 | Guwahati Refinery | Indian Oil Corporation Ltd | Public | Guwahati | Assam | 1 MTPA |
| 21 | Nagapattnam Refinery | Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd | Public | Nagapattnam | Tamil Nadu | 1 MTPA |
| 22 | Digboi Refinery | Indian Oil Corporation Ltd | Public | Digboi | Assam | 0.65 MTPA |
| 23 | Tatipaka Refinery | Oil and Natural Gas Corporation | Public | Tatipaka | Andhra Pradesh | 0.07 MTPA |
This chart shows the 23 oil refineries in India, along with their annual capacities, location and owning companies. Most of the oil refineries in India are owned and operated by the Indian Oil Corporation Ltd, with Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation owning some, alongside other players in the energy sector.
Overview of India’s Oil Refineries
India has 18 public sector refineries, as we can see from the above chart. Then we also have fiv and five refineries in the private sector or as a Joint Venture.
There’s a proposal to build three new refineries at Paradip in Odisha, Bina in Madhya Pradesh and Bhatinda in Punjab or increase their production capacities.
The Digboi Refinery operated by Indian Oil Corporation Ltd is the oldest of its kind in Asia.
As the Indian government opens up more and more oil and gas fields for exploration under the New Exploration Licensing Policy or NELP, we can see some more oil refineries coming up in different parts of the country within the next foreseeable future.
India depends heavily on imported crude to meet demands for its domestic consumption of petroleum products. The NELP is expected to boost local drilling and refining of crude oil in India and help the country save on precious foreign exchange it spends on oil imports.
In Conclusion
These 23 oil refineries in India are serving the countries needs for domestically refined crude oil and petroleum products. As the demand continues to surge, we could expect some of these refineries to be expanded to meet the growing needs for petroleum products in India. Additionally, more private sector companies are expected to enter the industry as the government opens the sector to non-public sector players. As one of the largest consumers of crude oil and petroleum products in the world, it’s natural that India’s oil refining industry is set to grow.
For more details checkout also here :- https://www.bharatpetroleum.in/our-businesses/refineries.aspx