State-owned Indian Oil Corp has surpassed Reliance Industries to regain its position as nation's biggest refiner after it completed expansion of its Panipat unit (in Haryana) to 15 million tonnes (from 12 million tonnes.
Before the expansion, IOC's eight refineries had a total crude oil refining capacity of 51.2 million tonnes a year and together with its subsidiary Chennai Petroleum Corp Ltd, it had a combined refining capacity of 61.7 million tonnes. After Panipat expansion, IOC group's refining capacity has increased to 64.7 million tonnes, ahead of 62 million tonnes of refining capacity that Reliance Industries has at Jamnagar in Gujarat.
This year IOC has raised Haldia refinery capacity by 1.5 million tonnes to 7.5 million tonnes. IOC is mulling raising the capacity of its Koyali refinery in Gujarat to 16 or 18 million tonnes a year from current 13.7 million tonnes a year. Also IOC has sought approval from Supreme Court to raise capacity of its 8 million tonnes Mathura plant to 11 million tonnes. IOC's refining capacity would rise to 80 million tonnes by 2012 after it commissions a 15 million tonnes a year unit at Paradip refinery in Orissa.
