Published on August 14, 2017

Indian government has been focusing on restructuring the petrochemical industry of the country and is planning to invest $ 35 billion to upgrade the existing industry.

The drive comes as the government seeks to promote durable, cheaper materials in industries such as farming and food packaging, while refiners eye long-term threats to their business from renewable energy and a shift to electric vehicles.

However the bigger giants like Indian Oil Corp (IOCL), Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL), already plan to spend about $35 billion to boost their petrochemicals business, according to interviews with senior company executives.

BPCL and HPCL will each spend about $15 billion over five years to raise the industry's share of their total revenue to 10 percent, executives from both the companies said.

Top refiner IOCL will invest Rs 300 million ($4.7 billion) over the next 5-7 years, top executives said, boosting revenue from petrochemicals from a quarter to a third of total revenue.

Together, the three firms plan to invest Rs 2.7 trillion ($42.3 billion) to build the world's biggest crude refinery with capacity of 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) on the country's west coast, which will be linked to a petrochemical plant.

Indian Oil also plans to expand its Panipat and Paradip petrochemical plants and build a new complex at it Koyali refinery.