Bharat Petroleum Corp to Shut Its Bina Refinery in June for Maintenance, Mumbai Refinery to Close Down as Well

BPCL is to close the Bina Refinery of 156,000 bpd capacity from June 2023 for 3 to 4 weeks given maintenance. Other refineries may shut down as well.

Written by: Arjita Gupta

Edited by: Krutarth Ghosalkar

Last Updated: January 23, 2023

Bharat Petroleum Corp is the second-largest downstream oil producer in India. It is also government-owner and is quite stringent in quality standards for each establishment. Thus. In the month of June this year, it will keep the Bina refinery, located in Central India, closed for maintenance for this duration. The refinery in question produces 156,000 barrels per day (bpd). The plan for the maintenance-related temporary shutdown was confirmed by two sources who knew about the information.

BPCL also has similar plans for the Mumbai refinery in Western India. It may remain closed temporarily once again for maintenance purposes. The shutdown may occur for 3 to 4 weeks in September-October, the dates of which will be confirmed later. The state-run refiner will shut down half of the Mumbai refinery which has a capacity of 240,000 bpd. No response about the news came from the spokesperson of the organization yet.

The sources revealed that the shutdown is not yet finalized but tentative. An official statement with the dates of closure will be revealed by the oil giant itself. But confirmed sources say that June 1 is when the Bina refinery will undergo maintenance. And it is going to be preceded by the Numaligarh refinery coming back to action from its close down for maintenance. It is normal for the BPCL refiners to close down for a few days or weeks for maintenance.

Such events happen once every 4 years for not just maintenance but inspection by the Bharat Petroleum Corp in India. The shutdown is planned for the 60,000-bpd capacity Numaligarh Refinery Ltd plant. The location of the refinery is in the northeast. Also, the plant will remain closed for 40 days till the April month’s end for maintenance. The sources also said that the maintenance-related close of BPCL refineries will not create any shortages as the company has already arranged the necessary to comply with its supply requirement.