ONGC plans to set up two petrochemical plants; to invest Rs 1 lakh crore

Petrochemical Plants: India's top oil and gas producer ONGC is planning to invest Rs 1 lakh crore to set up two petrochemical plants. The plants will convert crude oil directly into high-value chemical products as it prepares for energy transition

"We have plans to invest Rs 10,000 crore by 2028 or 2030 in two projects in two separate states," said D Adhikari, Executive Director and Chief of Joint Ventures & Business Development, ONGC, on the investor call.

Transition from Fossil Fuel

The world is looking to transition from fossil fuels and companies across the globe are looking at new avenues to use crude oil. Companies like ONGC pump out crude oil from below seabed and underground reservoirs. It is then processed in oil refineries to produce petrol, diesel and jet fuel.

The petrochemicals are used in the manufacturing of detergents, fibres (polyester, nylon, acrylic etc.), polythene and other man-made plastics.

Also Read: $5 Billion Deep-Sea Project: ONGC to start oil production in Krishna Godavari basin

ONGC is planning to raise petrochemical plant capacity to 8.5-9 million tonnes by 2030. While one project is expected to be fully owned by ONGC the other one will be a joint venture.

ONGC's Finance Director Pomila Jaspal also said the firm is looking to build separate oil-to-chemical (O2C) projects. ONGC already has two subsidiaries -- Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL) and ONGC Petro-Additions Limited (OPaL) that run petrochemical units at Mangalore in Karnataka and Dahej in Gujarat, respectively