Aiming to expand its revenue stream and accelerate clean energy transition, state-run Bharat Petroleum Corporation on Monday identified six key strategic areas, including petrochemicals, renewable energy (RE) and consumer retailing.

“The company has identified six strategic areas — petrochemicals, gas, RE, new businesses ( consumer retailing), e-mobility and upstream, which will serve as pillars of future growth and create sustainable value for all stakeholders, while the core business of refining and marketing of petroleum products continues to provide stability and funding bandwidth,” BPCL Chairman Arun Kumar Singh said in his speech to shareholders.

Later, he told reporters on crude oil sourcing that the company is in talks with several suppliers including Russia. On short-term sourcing from Russia, Singh said that BPCL is in dialogue, but nothing has been finalised.

Petrochemicals

Singh pointed out that the oil marketing company’s (OMCs) “topmost priority” now is to enhance its presence in the petrochemicals space.

“Company has planned two new projects – Ethylene Cracker project at Bina Refinery and Polypropylene project at Kochi Refinery--for which feasibility studies and other pre-project activities are underway. They are likely to take around four years for completion once environmental clearance is received and are expected to come on stream by 2026-27,” he added.

Once commissioned, these will increase the share of petrochemicals in the company’s product portfolio from around 1 per cent currently to about 8 per cent, Singh said.

Consumer retailing

Another key focus area for the CPSU is consumer retailing, where BPCL Chairman pointed out that the company will expand its reach and presence in the non-fuel business to offer consumables, durables and services by leveraging its pan-India network of over 20,000 fuel stations and more than 6,200 LPG distributors.

BPCL has developed a unique digitally enabled omni-channel business model to provide fuel and non-fuel offerings to the lowest strata of the Indian market, through engagement of rural women folk entrepreneurs, Urja Devis.

EV charging

Singh said BPCL has come out with the concept of creating Highway Fast Charging Corridors to address range anxiety for four-wheelers. For this, on a pilot basis, it has adopted 900 km of Chennai-Trichy-Madurai highway, NH-45, where it has set up a recharge facility at every 100 km distance at its retail outlets along both sides of this stretch.

“BPCL plans to extend this facility across 200 highway corridors with around 2,000 retail outlets in 2022-23,” Singh said.

Clean energy push

As part of its net-zero carbon emission target by 2040, BPCL has planned to scale up its RE portfolio from less than 50 megawatts (MW) presently to 1 gigawatt (GW) by 2025 for which it will invest ₹5,000 crore. The company will expand it further to 10 GW by 2040, the investments for which are under planning.

In City Gas Distribution (CGD), BPCL expanded its footprint, acquiring licenses for 8 Geographical Areas (GAs) in the recently concluded 11th and 11A CGD bidding rounds. With this, it has licenses for developing networks in 25 GAs covering 62 districts. On an overall basis, it has interests in a total of 50 GAs across 105 districts, inclusive of JVs.

Further, commercial operations have started at eight new GAs during the year, while work in other GAs is progressing well, Singh informed the shareholders.

Crude sourcing

When asked about crude oil sourcing for next year, Singh said, “As of now, we have not heard of any disturbance in offering from conventional term sources. But as per any oil company, we are continuously in dialogue with all suppliers including Russia to increase its term basket to around 70 per cent. That is a continuously evolving dialogue. It will close around the end of the calendar year or fiscal year.”

When prodded on Russian short term contracts, he said “We are in talk with everyone. We are in dialogue with them. When it will materialise, how and on what terms is something which will become clear as we go along. Dialogue is an essential part, but closure is a two companies matter.”

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