Oil India’s Assam refinery expansion on course, exports unaffected by Bangladesh crisis

New Delhi: The political crisis in Bangladesh has not impacted fuel supplies from Oil India Ltd’s Numaligarh refinery in assam to the neighbouring country, said OIL chairman and managing director Ranjit Rath.

Expansion plans for Oil India’s subsidiary Numaligarh Refinery Ltd also have not been affected by the unrest in Bangladesh, he said, adding that the neighbouring country is expected to be a major buyer of the products from the refinery.

“I am very happy to report that there is no disruption at all. There is no disruption of movement…,” Rath said on Saturday following the state-run oil and gas major’s annual general meeting. “The India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline, laid from Siliguri to Parbatipur in Bangladesh, is functioning smoothly. Absolutely no disruption. We are pushing diesel utilising that particular pipeline.”

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Numaligarh Refinery has been supplying diesel to Bangladesh through rail since 2015 and the India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline since last year. 

The refinery, which has a capacity of 3 million tonnes per annum, is undergoing a major capacity augmentation by installing a 6 mtpa capacity refinery and associated crude oil terminals and pipelines.

Rath also said there had been no payment issues related to Bangladesh. “Letter of credit is in place for supplies to Bangladesh,” he said.

Oil India’s drilling programme

Oil India, a Maharatna status company, targets drilling over 75 wells this financial year as part of its new drilling programme. The company drilled 38 wells in 2021-22, 45 in the following year, and 61 in 2023-24.

Maharatna is the highest status accorded to government-owned entities, allowing them greater autonomy in decision-making and investments.

“From 45 to 61 wells, it represents a 35% annual growth,” Rath said, adding that Oil India would be targetting deeper and more complex wells.

“In the last two years, we have been growing at 5-6% in terms of crude oil and natural gas production. This is on top of a natural decline (in existing production) of 12%. So, the net growth is 6%, gross growth is 18%,” he added.

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During the company’s annual general meeting, Ruth highlighted Oil India’s ongoing efforts to expedite its exploration initiatives with total domestic exploration acreage of 58,564.2 sq.km across category I, II and III sedimentary basins. 

He added that the company was pursuing a stagewise exploration strategy, in which drilling activities will be interspersed with supplementary seismic acquisition, processing, and interpretation. 

Ruth reiterated Oil India’s commitment to achieving net zero emissions by 2040 and the company’s plans to expand its non-fossil fuel energy portfolio, focusing on solar, wind, geothermal, green hydrogen, and compressed biogas, among others.

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