The Indian fuel demand is projected to reach 400-450 million tonnes by 2040 from the current 250 million tonnes in the forecasts of various agencies. To meet this increased demand, IndianOil will take up new projects every year through which 25 million tonnes including CPCL Metric Tonnes Per Annum (MMTPA) refining capacity will be expanded. An investment of about one lakh crore rupees is expected in the next 4-5 years on these expansion plans of refining capacity.
In the AGM held at New Delhi,IndianOil Chairman Mr. Shrikant Madhav Vaidya declared record profit of Rs 21,836 crore for the FY 2020-21.The gross refining margin (GRM) during the year rose to US$ 5.64 per barrel (bbl) as compared to US$ 0.08 per bbl in the previous financial year. For the first quarter of this fiscal, IndianOil achieved a refinery run of 88.6% as compared to 68.5% in Quarter 1 of FY 2020-21.
The sales volume of petrol has already crossed pre-Covid level, with diesel likely to reach there in the next 2-3 months, said IndianOil Chairman.
In the electric mobility sector, the ‘IOC Phinergy Private Limited’ has been formed between IndianOil and the Israeli company Phinergy, to commercialise Aluminium-Air Battery technology for the Original Equipment Manufacturers in India. Leading automobile companies have shown keen interest in the technology and prototype integration and field trials are expected to commence soon, Mr. Vaidya informed. This collaboration has potential advantages for India, including a viable and affordable e-mobility solution by leveraging the abundant Aluminium reserves in the country.
In another crucial initiative, Mr. Vaidya stated in his AGM address that Indian Oil will be teaming up with Malaysia’s state-run oil and gas firm Petronas to expand the business scope of the existing Joint Venture company, IndianOil Petronas Pvt Ltd to include LNG terminals, CNG stations, CGD projects, CBG business and retailing of transportation fuels.
Talking about strengthening clean energy offerings, Mr. Vaidya said that IndianOil will build the nation’s first ‘Green Hydrogen’ plant at Mathura Refinery. The current project at Mathura Refinery will be pioneering the introduction of green Hydrogen in India. This new age, emission free fuel can be a game changer for the country that is among the top crude oil importing nations.
IndianOil R&D Centre has been undertaking cutting edge research in all facets of Hydrogen, including production, storage, and applications like fuel cells. Hydrogen CNG (HCNG) experiment in Delhi, wherein IOC converted 50 CNG BS-IV buses to run on HCNG fuel, has revealed significant benefits in reducing exhaust emissions and improving the fuel economy. With the bulk of the transportation fleet consisting of BS-IV compliant buses, this is a promising development for improving the air quality of our cities, IndianOil Chairman informed during his AGM speech.
Indian Oil is also in the process of setting up one-tonne per day capacity pilot plants based on four innovative hydrogen production technologies. Indian Oil would be operating 15 fuel cell buses in the Delhi NCR region along with Tata Motors. The company also be seeding Hydrogen Mobility by commoditising the surplus quantities of Hydrogen available at the Gujarat refinery with a dispensing facility for Hydrogen powered buses.
The mission of solarising our fuel stations is being actively pursued, along with scouting for new opportunities in the renewable energy sphere. With the addition of Solar Photovoltaics capacity of around 6 Mega Watt (MW) during the year, the total Solar Power capacity is now over 65 MW. Moreover, IndianOil has a Wind Power capacity of about 167 MW, taking the total power generation from Renewable Energy during the year close to 330 Giga Watt Hour (GWh). This has resulted in emission mitigation of about 260 Thousand Metric Tonnes of Carbon dioxide equivalent (TMTCO2e).
Strengthening our environmental stewardship, IndianOil is setting up a second (2G) and a third generation (3G) ethanol plant at Panipat Refinery. The 2G plant of 100 Kilolitre per day capacity will use rice straw to produce ethanol. It is aimed at addressing the critical and perturbing issue of stubble burning and will gainfully use the agricultural residue for national welfare. The 128 Kilolitre per day capacity 3G ethanol Plant is based on LanzaTech’s innovative Gas Fermentation Technology to gainfully convert refinery off- gases into ethanol. Both the projects are nearing completion and are likely to be commissioned by the end of the current fiscal year.
To further strengthen our forays into biofuels, an agreement was recently signed between IndianOil and Verbio AG, the German biofuels giant, for setting up a Joint Venture company. The JV will steer Biofuel projects and set up Compressed Biogas Plants using the agricultural waste as feedstock to spell a new era in the Biogas segment for IndianOil. Another promising JV for setting up Biofuel projects with NAFED (National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Limited) is also on the anvil. This JV would leverage the NAFED outlets to market products like CBG and organic manures.
