Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (BPCL) has announced the commencement of pre-project activities for establishing a greenfield refinery and petrochemical complex in Andhra Pradesh. The project is estimated to cost ₹6,100 crore and marks a significant step in BPCL’s expansion on India’s east coast.
As part of the pre-project phase, BPCL will undertake various activities, including land identification and acquisition, preparation of a Detailed Feasibility Report (DFR), Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), and Basic Design Engineering Package (BDEP). These steps will be followed by Front End Engineering Design (FEED) to ensure the smooth execution of the project.
Stock Market Reaction
The immediate reaction was that the shares of BPCL had gathered steam right after the announcement. This stock, at 12:20 pm, trading on NSE, moved up 0.8% to ₹291.35 against the previous day’s close. However, it pared some intraday gains in the later part of the session.
The report adds that prior to this announcement, there were reports of Saudi Arabia interested in investing in a refinery being built by BPCL. According to a senior Indian government official, a discussion between the two has started, and Saudi Arabia has shown interest in various greenfield and strategic petroleum reserve projects in India.
In 2019, Saudi Arabia signed an MoU with India to invest $100 billion across agriculture, infrastructure, manufacturing, and energy sectors. However, these have not materialized so far.
BPCL reported a sharp 72% year-on-year decline in consolidated net profit for Q2 FY25 at ₹2,297 crore against ₹8,243 crore in the same period last year. The decline was due to lower refining margins and reduced cracks. Despite the unimpressive financials, the BPCL stock has fared well in the last one year, rallying 30% against a 13% gain in the Nifty 50 index during the corresponding period.
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Source: Moneycontrol
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