Abhai Raj Singh Bhandari has taken over as the Executive Director of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) Kochi Refinery.
He now heads the largest PSU refinery in India and the first Indian refinery to produce propylene-derivative niche petrochemicals.
A chemical engineer from BITS, Pilani (1987), Bhandari began his career with Mumbai Refinery of BPCL in 1987. He has worked with refineries across India and abroad such as MRPL Mangalore, NRL Assam, BORL besides BPCL MR and Oman Oil Company (deputation).
He anchored several prestigious projects including the commissioning of hydrocracker unit of MRPL, crude and vacuum distillation unit and hydrocracker unit of Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) and Bina Refinery. He headed operations and technical services of NRL, where he conceptualized value addition projects like the Motor Spirit Block and Wax Project of NRL.
Currently, Bhandari takes over as Executive Director of Kochi Refinery on the superannuation of Ajith Kumar K on May 31.