To jointly execute a feasibility study for a petcoke gasification project at Bharat Petroleum Corp’s 15.5-million tonne/year (tpy) Kochi refinery at Ambalamugal, Ernakulam district, BPCL has let a contract to Dastur International Inc. and Lummus Technology LLC.
The feasibility study will evaluate various options to arrive at the most appropriate and economically viable blueprint and technology architecture for the proposed project, which aims to enable the refinery to produce high-value petrochemical products and clean fuels like hydrogen in a cost-competitive and sustainable manner from its delayed coker’s more than 1.2-million tpy production of petcoke.
The feasibility study comes as part of BPCL’s strategy to transform its petcoke output into an environmentally friendly feedstock for production of clean-energy products ahead of what are likely soon-to-be increased regulatory restrictions on the refining byproduct.
Earlier in the year, BPCL’s Kochi refinery became India’s first exporter of very low-sulfur fuel oil that complies with the International Marine Organization’s new regulations requiring ships to use marine fuels with a sulfur content below 0.5 percent. BPCL also is proceeding with a project to build an integrated petrochemical complex at the Kochi refinery that, once completed, will transform the manufacturing site into India’s largest public sector unit refinery.
