INDIA – HPCL Expects Rajasthan Refinery Restart by Mid-May After Fire Incident
New Delhi, April 26: Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) has said that operations at its Rajasthan joint venture refinery are likely to resume in the second half of May following a fire incident earlier this month. The company expects repair work to be completed within the next three to four weeks.
According to HPCL, the fire that occurred on April 20 was most likely caused by a leak in the crude distillation unit (CDU), the core processing section of the refinery. Preliminary findings suggest that the blaze may have originated from a hydrocarbon leak, possibly from a valve or flange in the heat exchanger circuit.
In a stock exchange filing, the company stated that a detailed investigation found the damage to be limited to the heat exchanger stack area. Six exchangers and associated equipment were affected in the incident.
HPCL added that circumstantial evidence points to a leak from the pressure gauge tapping point on the inlet line of the vacuum residue exchanger as the suspected source of the fire.
The incident took place just a day before the official inauguration of the ₹79,450-crore refinery project, which had been scheduled for April 21 and was to be dedicated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Following the fire, the ceremony has been postponed, and a revised date is yet to be announced.
The company said restoration efforts are progressing and that the CDU restart is anticipated in the latter half of May 2026. Other secondary processing units are reportedly in advanced stages of commissioning and remain on schedule.
Trial production of key fuels, including LPG, petrol, diesel, and naphtha, is expected to begin during May. This will be followed by system stabilisation and eventual full-scale commissioning of the refinery complex.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has ordered a separate investigation into the incident. A four-member committee headed by former MRPL Managing Director M. Venkatesh has been tasked with examining the cause of the fire.
Industry observers note that the startup and commissioning phases of refineries are particularly sensitive, as hydrocarbons are introduced into newly installed or maintained high-pressure and high-temperature systems. This makes such facilities more vulnerable to fires and other operational hazards during this stage.
For this reason, inauguration ceremonies are generally held only after all major units have been safely commissioned and operations have stabilised.
The refinery, located in Rajasthan’s Balotra district, is designed as a 9 million tonnes per annum integrated refinery-cum-petrochemical complex. With a strong petrochemical focus, it supports India’s broader strategy of increasing domestic value-added production and reducing import dependence.
The project is set to become India’s 24th refinery and is regarded as the country’s second most complex refining unit.
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