Indian oil companies advance refining agenda

The country’s refinery sector continues to grow, but remains largely state-controlled

India’s state-backed oil companies are making some progress with the country’s plans to expand its refining capacity, their latest quarterly results reveal. But privatisation efforts do not appear to have progressed, and upstream activity remains relatively muted. Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) is continuing its programme of refinery capacity expansions, with three projects underway, as well as building and upgrading various petrochemical and other units at its facilities. IOC is in the process of adding 17.3mn t/yr of refining capacity, with capacity at the Panipat refinery set to increase to 25mn t/yr from 15mn t/yr, at the Gujarat to 18mn t/yr from 13.7mn t/yr and at the Barauni refinery to