Reliance Industries to invest $13 billion in projects, includes new refinery

The company wrote to the environment ministry last year for approvals to the proposed expansion

India's most valuable company, Reliance Industries, has sought the environment ministry's approval for a $13 billion upgrade to its Jamnagar complex, including a new 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) refinery, official documents showed. 

The refinery will process cheap, heavy grades of crude that are increasingly available in Asia as the boom in US shale output has cut demand there.

Reliance, controlled by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, operates the world's biggest refining complex in Gujarat, where its two adjacent plants can process about 1.4 million bpd of oil.

The company last year sought the approval of the environment ministry to invest Rs 77,300 crore (about $12.8 billion) to build a new refinery and some polymer units, and to switch the fuel for a 450 megawatt power plant from gas to coal, according to a copy of the proposal obtained by Reuters.

The environment ministry wrote back in May this year asking Reliance to meet certain conditions in order to secure a green light for the projects, the documents show.

It was not immediately clear if there had been further communications between Reliance and the environment ministry. The documents did not reference a potential start up date.

Reliance did not respond to an email seeking comment.