India is witnessing a fast-changing energy landscape. What role does IndianOil play in shaping the country’s oil and gas scenario?
India’s fast-evolving energy landscape calls for bold and transformative action, and IndianOil continues to serve as a cornerstone in shaping the nation’s oil and gas future. As the country’s largest refiner, accounting for nearly one-third of the national refining capacity, and the leading supplier of petrol, diesel, and LPG, IndianOil plays a critical role in ensuring energy availability across the length and breadth of the nation.
In a context where over 88% of crude oil is imported, placing an annual burden of more than USD 130 billion on the exchequer, and with consumption projected to rise from 5.5 to 6.5 million barrels per day by 2030, ensuring energy security at affordable costs has become a national imperative. To address this, IndianOil has charted a strategic roadmap to increase its share in the national energy basket from 9% to 12.5% by 2050. Central to this ambition is the expansion of our refining capacity from 80.8 MMTPA to 98 MMTPA by FY 2026-27, coupled with matching investments in Marketing and Pipleine infrastructure, an effort that is being reinforced through high-impact infrastructure investments in key industrial corridors.
While reinforcing its conventional energy strengths, IndianOil is also making targeted investments in sustainable and future-ready energy pathways.
How is IndianOil continuing to strengthen its core business while keeping pace with the changing energy landscape?
Our core businesses, Refining, Marketing, and Pipelines, continue to serve as the foundation of IndianOil’s operations, delivering strength and reliability even as we adapt to the evolving contours of the energy landscape. With nine refineries operating across the country, we meet a significant share of India’s fuel requirements, ensuring seamless supply and reinforcing national energy security.
At the same time, we are deepening our footprint in the petrochemicals sector, a strategic step towards enhancing long-term value and reducing exposure to crude price volatility. Our journey to expand petrochemical capacity from 4.2 to 13.2 million tonnes by 2030 is progressing steadily, with a strong focus on high-value specialty chemicals. This shift will not only diversify our revenue streams but also equip us to meet the rising demand across infrastructure, packaging, mobility, and allied sectors. The growth of the PROPEL brand and validation of new product grades by OEMs reflect our focus on innovation, customer relevance, and market leadership.
Sustainability is now embedded in our operational ethos. Initiatives such as solar-powered polymer terminals, the use of recycled materials in packaging, and our flagship Cycloplast project, which converts plastic waste into high-quality recyclates, demonstrate our commitment to circular economy principles.
Further to reinforce our leadership in energy innovation, we have committed an investment of ₹3,200 crore toward a next-generation R&D campus. This new facility will house Centres of Excellence focused on Nanotechnology, Sustainable Energy solutions, and emerging scientific disciplines, ensuring that our innovation ecosystem remains future-ready and globally competitive.
These efforts, complemented by a sustained focus on renewable energy and carbon abatement, reflect a calibrated shift toward cleaner energy pathways.
IndianOil has committed to reaching net zero by 2046. What does your roadmap look like to achieve this target?
IndianOil’s commitment to achieving net-zero emissions by 2046 is anchored in a structured, phased, and technology-driven roadmap that places energy efficiency at its core. With over 97% of our current carbon footprint originating from refining and petrochemical operations, we are prioritising the deployment of energy-efficient technologies and transitioning to cleaner fuels such as natural gas across our facilities. As India’s national grid steadily shifts towards renewable sources, our power procurement strategy is being realigned to integrate low-emission electricity.
A major thrust is directed toward scaling up our renewable energy portfolio to 30 GW by 2030. A significant step in this direction has been the creation of Terra Clean Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary dedicated to advancing our low-carbon initiatives. The rollout of an initial 1 GW project, backed by a capital investment of ₹5,215 crore, marks the beginning of this expansion.
In parallel, the pioneering push at Panipat with the upcoming 10 kta Green Hydrogen Project and India’s first commercial scale Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) plant underscore IndianOil leadership in clean energy. We are also advancing innovations in compressed biogas (CBG), Carbon Capture and Utilisation (CCUS), synthetic fuels, technologies that will serve as pillars of our future energy architecture.
Our approach extends beyond technology. Nature-based interventions form a critical part of our strategy. Over one million trees are being planted across Gujarat, Telangana, Rajasthan, and Bihar under the Green Credit Programme. Our Mangroves 2.0 initiative, launched in West Bengal, stands as one of the largest corporate-led coastal afforestation efforts in the country. These initiatives are supported by life cycle assessments of key fuels such as MS, HSD, and LPG to ensure scientific rigour and measurable environmental outcomes.
As we move forward on this transformative journey, we remain firmly aligned with national and global climate commitments, ensuring that our energy transition is not only technically robust but also inclusive and impactful.
How important are biofuels in IndianOil’s energy portfolio, and what progress has been made?
Biofuels form a vital pillar of IndianOil’s strategy to enhance energy self-reliance, reduce crude oil imports, and stimulate rural economic development, while contributing meaningfully to emissions reduction. We have made notable progress in ethanol blending, having achieved near 20% ethanol content in petrol. The commissioning of advanced 2G and 3G ethanol plants is setting new benchmarks in sustainable fuel production, unlocking value from agri-residues and non-food biomass.
Our initiatives in Compressed Biogas (CBG) are equally transformative. At present, 44 CBG plants are operational, including 41 commissioned under the SATAT initiative, supplying clean fuel through IndianOil’s retail network under the IndiGreen brand. Facilities at Gorakhpur, Hingonia, and Gwalior exemplify the scalability of waste-to-energy solutions across both urban and rural landscapes.
To build on this momentum, we have issued over over 700 Letters of Intent and are rapidly progressing to develop 30 additional CBG plants through joint ventures, reinforcing our long-term commitment to this critical segment. The growing footprint of the IndiGreen brand reflects increasing public and commercial confidence in biogas as a reliable and sustainable transport fuel.
As the world moves toward decarbonisation, what is your long-term vision for IndianOil?
IndianOil’s long-term vision is to evolve from a conventional fossil-fuel-based company into a diversified, integrated energy enterprise, well-positioned to lead India’s energy transition. By 2050, we aim to enhance our contribution to the national energy mix from 9% to 12.5%, in alignment with the anticipated doubling of the country’s overall energy demand. This transformation will be anchored in a balanced portfolio that continues to leverage the strength of conventional fuels, while expanding decisively into cleaner, more sustainable energy vectors.
A key enabler of this transition is our wholly owned subsidiary, Terra Clean Ltd., which is spearheading our low-carbon ventures. Complementing this are our concurrent efforts to scale up electric mobility infrastructure, including the rollout of EV charging and battery swapping stations across strategic corridors. By 2040, we envision our revenue mix to be a seamless integration of conventional fuels, clean energy, and advanced petrochemicals.
Simultaneously, IndianOil is expanding its international footprint through strategic partnerships and energy exports, reinforcing its commitment to global engagement and market diversification. This multi-dimensional transformation reflects a clear understanding of emerging energy dynamics and underscores IndianOil’s resolve to remain resilient, competitive, and responsible in a rapidly evolving global energy economy.
IndianOil recently launched Project SPRINT. Could you share how this initiative is set to transform the company?
Project SPRINT serves as IndianOil’s strategic blueprint to build a leaner, digitally empowered, and future-ready enterprise. Conceived as a transformational framework, it is anchored in six core pillars: Strengthening Core Businesses, Propelling Cost Optimisation, Reinforcing Customer-Centricity, Integrating Technology and Innovation, Nurturing Talent and Leadership, and Transition Readiness. Each pillar addresses a critical dimension of our evolution, enabling the organisation to enhance resilience, agility, and long-term competitiveness.
At its core, Project SPRINT is about reimagining the way IndianOil operates, simplifying processes, embracing digital innovation, and fostering a culture of accountability and continuous improvement. The initiative is already delivering measurable results, demonstrating its potential to reshape our institutional fabric.
More than a transformation programme, Project SPRINT reflects our deeper commitment to aligning vision with execution, and purpose with performance. It exemplifies IndianOil’s readiness to lead in a dynamic and fast-changing energy ecosystem, where scale must be matched by speed, and legacy must evolve with innovation.
As we move forward, Project SPRINT will remain integral to our journey, driving operational excellence, unlocking value across the enterprise, and reinforcing IndianOil’s role as a modern, responsive, and forward-looking energy leader dedicated to delivering lasting value for the nation.
