State-run Indian Oil Corp., the country’s top refiner, plans to sell hydrogen-producing units at its plants to private sector entities, its chairman S. M. Vaidya said on March 16.
In her annual budget for the 2021-2022 fiscal year presented last month, Nirmala Sitharaman, India’s finance minister proposed the sale of some assets of state-run companies to mobilize funds.
To begin with IOC plans to sell two hydrogen units of 72,500 tonnes per annum capacity each at its 276,000 barrels per day (bbl/d) Koyali refinery in western Gujarat state by the end of 2021, Vaidya told reporters on the sidelines of an industry event.
“We are starting with the Gujarat refinery. Let's see how it goes before we start the process for other refineries,” Vaidya said.
IOC operates about a third of India’s 5 million bbl/d refining capacity.
Vaidya said the IOC will pay annual operation and maintenance charges to the new owner.
“We are trying to leverage hydrogen units. The asset value and O&M (operation and maintenance) cost will be taken into consideration for selecting a licensor or new buyer,” he said.
However, he said the firm had no plans to sell other units of the refineries for now.
The sale of hydrogen units made sense, however, as IOC would be the sole customer of the hydrogen produced by the new owner from the units located at its Koyali refinery, he said.
Recommended Reading
Aethon Cuts Rigs but Wants More Western Haynesville Acreage
2024-03-28 - Private gas E&P Aethon Energy has drilled some screamers in its far western Haynesville Shale play—and the company wants to do more in the area.
Energy Transition in Motion (Week of March 28, 2024)
2024-03-28 - Here is a look at some of this week’s renewable energy news, including proposals submitted to develop about 6.8 gigawatts of wind projects offshore Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
SLB to Acquire Majority Stake in Aker Carbon Capture
2024-03-28 - SLB and Aker Carbon Capture plan to combine their technology portfolios, expertise and operations platforms to bring carbon capture technologies to market faster and more economically, SLB said in a news release.
CERAWeek: Tecpetrol CEO Touts Argentina Conventional, Unconventional Potential
2024-03-28 - Tecpetrol CEO Ricardo Markous touted Argentina’s conventional and unconventional potential saying the country’s oil production would nearly double by 2030 while LNG exports would likely evolve over three phases.
DUG GAS+: Chesapeake in Drill-but-don’t-turn-on Mode
2024-03-28 - COO Josh Viets said Chesapeake is cutting costs and ready to take advantage once gas prices rebound.