Major state-owned companies Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum have signed an agreement to build what they say will be one of the world’s largest integrated refinery and petrochemicals complexes. Indian Oil is reported to be taking a 50% stake in the joint venture, with the other two groups taking 25% each.

The 60 million t/y greenfield refinery complex will be built in the Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra state with commissioning expected by 2022. Costs in the project are estimated at $40 billion.

The refinery will be designed to produce Euro-VI and above-grade transportation fuels with  in-built flexibility to process a wide range of light and heavy crude oil grades. The facility will also be able to produce an on-demand product mix of petrol and diesel streams as well as other refined products and petrochemical streams, said to include a naphtha cracker, aromatics and polymer plants. The companies said the complex will have the highest level of integration and energy efficiency.

Local contractor Engineers India is carrying out the project’s preliminary configuration study in association with an (unnamed) international consultant. UK-based information provider and analyst IHS Markit is conducting a market study for the chemicals that will be produced at the complex.

As well as the refinery/petrochemical complex, the viability of other associated industries in the vicinity of the project is also being examined.