Bharat Petroleum Secures 32,000 Cr. Loan for Bina Refinery Expansion
Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (BPCL), the Indian oil and gas giant, has secured a Rs. 31,802 crore loan, which will be directed towards expansion of BPCL’s Bina refinery in Madhya Pradesh.
Loan from SBI-Led Consortium of Banks
A bank consortium, led by State Bank of India, executed the aforementioned loan agreement with BPCL on 16th January 2025. This consortium comprises six banks, namely State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Union Bank of India, Canara Bank, Export Import Bank of India, Bank of India.
While commenting on achieving financial closure for the Bina refinery expansion, Mr. G Krishnakumar, CMD of BPCL said, “We are delighted to achieve financial closure for our project, which aligns with India’s broader strategy to boost industrial growth, infrastructure development, and increased industrial activity”.
Investment of Rs. 48,926 Cr., Ethylene Cracker to be Developed
Expansion of BPCL’s Bina refinery has been envisaged with a total investment of about Rs. 48,926 crore. Key part of this expansion is the establishment of an Ethylene cracker project at the refinery along with allied downstream petrochemical plants. Once commissioned, the Bina Petrochemical complex will be capable of producing 1.2 Million Metric Tonne Per Annum (MMTPA) of Ethylene and 550 Kilo Tonne Per Annum (KTPA) of Propylene.
Along with this, Bina refinery’s production capacity will be expanded to 11 Million Metric Tonne Per Annum (MMTPA) from the current 7.8 MMTPA.
Expansion process at Bina is expected to create about 15,000 jobs in the construction phase. Once commissioned, Bina refinery is expected to generate about 1 lakh direct and indirect employment opportunities.
Work at Bina “Progressing Well” – BPCL Management
During BPCL’s earnings call for Q2 of FY-25, Mr. V.R.K Gupta, the company’s Director of Finance, had said that the complex at Bina is expected to be commissioned in FY-28 or FY-29. He added, “The cumulative progress [at Bina] is 6.3% in physical terms…All contractor for site enabling works have been onboarded and site-enabling work such as construction for boundary wall, side grading, including rock blasting activities are already started in the month of July [2024] and progressing well”.
Contract with US-based Lummus Technology for Ethylene Cracker
As per several media sources, in August 2024, BPCL entered into an agreement with US-based Lummus Technology to deploy its proprietary technologies at Bina Petrochemical project. Lummus will also be providing water-treatment solutions at Bina Petrochemical complex.
BPCL’s Stock Gains 2.6% After Announcement
BPCL’s share price recorded a 2.59% increase after the company announced that it had secured the aforementioned loan for Bina refinery expansion project. A day after the announcement, BPCL’s shares were trading at Rs. 273.80 apiece as compared to Rs. 266.90 apiece on the day of announcement.
About Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd.: Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. is a Maharatna oil & gas Public Sector Undertaking (PSU), and a Fortune 500 company. BPCL’s combined refining capacity sits at about 40 MMTPA with refineries in strategic locations such as Mumbai, Bina, Kochi, and Numaligarh. For the year ended 31st March 2024, the company reported Rs. 5,06,992.60 crore as its revenue from operations.