by Suman Gupta
The 66th Annual General Meeting of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited was held recently at Mumbai.
Chairman and Managing Director along with Functional Directors addressed the Press about the performance and highlights of HPCL in 2017-18 and outlook of 2018-19. C&MD along with Functional Director interacted with the press and responded to Media queries.In 2017-18, HPCL recorded highest ever standalone profit after tax of Rs 6,357 crore, highest ever refining thruput of 18.3 MMT and highest ever overall sales of 36.9 million tonnes.
Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd (HPCL) will invest ₹75,000 crore over five years across its business segments to grow, M.K. Surana, chairman, and managing director said on Thursday.“HPCL is focused on enhancing the refinery footprint to increase self-sufficiency, diversify into the profitable segment of petrochemicals, expand the refining and marketing business in new geographies and create presence in the future business line of natural gas for achieving growth and superior financial performance,” Surana told shareholders at the company’s 66th annual general meeting in Mumbai.HPCL is expanding its Visakhapatnam refinery in Andhra Pradesh under the Visakh Refinery Modernization Project for enhancing the refinery capacity from the present 8.33 million metric tonnes per annum (mmtpa) to 15 mmtpa at a cost of ₹20,928 crore.
The project includes bottom upgradation facilities and will make the refinery capable of producing Bharat Stage VI (BSVI) compliant motor fuels and enhance its complexity and profitability.The company’s Mumbai refinery is being expanded from 7.5 mmtpa to 9.5 mmtpa at a cost of ₹5,060 crore.HPCL is also setting up a 9 mmtpa greenfield refinery in Barmer, Rajasthan and is a partner in the 60 mmtpa Ratnagiri Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd in Maharashtra.“To cater to the growing demand of petrochemicals, HPCL is setting up a refinery cum petrochemicals complex in Barmer, Rajasthan, at a cost of ₹43,129 crore in partnership with the government of Rajasthan,” Surana said.The company is investing ₹5,555 crore in expanding its pipeline network and is also a partner in a 5 mmtpa liquefied natural gas regasification terminal at Chhara, Gujarat.
For FY19, HPCL sought shareholders nod to borrow ₹12,000 crore by selling debentures and bonds.The company is exploring opportunities to grow its lubricants business across Asia, West Asia and Africa. “A detailed market entry strategy has been worked out and a concrete business plan is being developed for these countries,” it said in its annual report.\To execute its plans, HPCL has formed HPCL Middle East FZCO, in the Dubai Airport Free Zone Area in the United Arab Emirates, and has also appointed a distributor in Myanmar to start sales. “The corporation plans to significantly increase lube sales volume in Myanmar,” it said.“Your company will continue to actively pursue current and future opportunities in the areas of refineries, petrochemicals, infrastructure, natural gas, bio-fuels, renewable energy and new age technologies to create further value for our stakeholders,” Surana said.
