Indian Oil Corp (IOC), a state-owned major oil marketing firm, announced on Tuesday that it has set a capital expenditure target of Rs 33,000 crore for the upcoming fiscal year 2025–2026, compared to Rs 35,000 crore for FY25. As of December, the company’s capital expenditures for the fiscal year totaled Rs 28,000 crore.
The company has announced intentions to expand the capacity of its refineries in Panipat (Haryana), Gujarat, and Barauni (Bihar), after reporting a 76.7% decline in its consolidated net profit for the third quarter of the fiscal year 2024–25.
The project is expected to be put into service by the final quarter of the upcoming fiscal year, while IOC is also increasing the capacity of its refinery in Gujarat at an estimated cost of Rs 19,000 crore. The business also expects to finish the Rs 14,800 crore Barauni refinery expansion from 6 MMTPA to 9 MMTPA over the next year or two.
There is no shortage of oil available in the market, and IOC is in talks with several nations, including those in West Asia and Africa, regarding crude oil imports, the company responded when asked how the recent US sanctions on Russia would affect its source of petroleum.
Up until December of FY 2024–2025, around 25% of IOCL’s total crude oil imports came from Russia. In contrast to the benchmark prices, which were $3 per barrel until December, the company reported that the discounts on Russian crude have now decreased to $1-1.5 per barrel.
The business also anticipates that the government will provide subsidies to the nation’s OMCs to make up for the LPG sales under recovery. In addition, IOC wants to reach its net zero goals by 2030 by developing a strong renewable energy portfolio with 31 GW of capacity.
“A significant amount of the 6-7 GW capacity will come from joint venture routes, and the remaining 5-6 GW will be acquired through mergers and acquisitions,” the company said.
