Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the country’s biggest refiner and fuel retailer, plans to invest US$4.46 billion (329.46 billion Indian rupees) to expand the processing capacity of its Panipat refinery by two-thirds to 500,000 bpd within three years. The refinery expansion project is set to boost petrochemicals production at the site, as well as specialty products that would contribute to de-risking “the conventional fuel business of the company,” Reuters quoted IOC as saying in a statement on Friday. Petrochemicals are expected to contribute the most to global oil demand growth this decade, replacing road transportation fuel as the key driver of growth. India, the third-largest importer of crude oil in the world and the third-largest consumer of oil, plans to significantly boost its overall refining capacity this decade. Last year, India’s Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said that the country planned to double its refining capacity by 2030 from the current […]