India's Top Refiner To Spend $25 Billion For 2046 Net-Zero Goal

Indian Oil Corp, the country's top refiner, plans to invest more than $25 billion to achieve net-zero emissions from its operations by 2046, its chairman S. M. Vaidya said at an annual shareholders meeting on Thursday. India, one of the world's biggest greenhouse gas emitters, is aiming to reach net-zero emissions for the country by 2070.

"The company is embarking on a decarbonisation journey that will be crucial not only for the company’s destiny but also for the planet," Vaidya said.

"On the 99th year of India’s independence (2046), Indian Oil will be operationally independent of emissions," he said.

IOC plans an investment of over 2 trillion rupees ($25 billion) to mitigate emissions to about 0.7 billion metric tonnes of carbon dioxide a year by then.

Vaidya said IOC has prepared a roadmap to achieve net zero Scope 1 and 2 emissions - that is, emissions produced from its crude refining operations and energy consumption.

Most of IOC's efforts will be targeted at decarbonising its refineries and petrochemical complexes, which account for 97% of its operations, he said.

IOC along with its subsidiary Chennai Petroleum Corp controls about a third of India's 5 million barrels per day (bpd) of refining capacity.

Vaidya said IOC aims to raise its refining capacity by a third to 2.14 million bpd by 2024/25, and increase the proportion of petrochemicals produced from each barrel of oil to 15% by 2030 to meet rising local demand and boost fuel exports.

To cut emissions, IOC plans to use renewable energy to fuel its capacity expansion and is setting up green hydrogen plants at its Panipat and Mathura refineries.

IOC plans for green hydrogen to account for about 5% of its overall hydrogen output by 2027-28 and 10% by 2029-30.

Vaidya also said IOC will have electric vehicle charging facilities at 10,000 fuel stations in two years.

($1 = 79.8580 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Nidhi Verma; Editing by Tom Hogue)