Hindustan Petroleum likely to consider processing Venezuela crude oil

Refiner was unable to do so earlier due to the crude's high acidic nature

State-run Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) will evaluate the possibility of processing Venezuelan oil at its refineries, Chairman and Managing Director Vikas Kaushal said during a post-results analyst call on Thursday.

 

The company could process heavy Venezuelan crude with the installation of a residue upgrade facility (RUF) at its 15 million tonnes per annum refinery in Visakhapatnam (Vizag) and with the commissioning of the greenfield refinery in Rajasthan’s Barmer, Kaushal added.

 

“If Venezuelan crude is available, having RUF and Barmer (refinery) gives us an opportunity to evaluate it. It is not an easy crude to handle,” Kaushal said. The RUF technology installed at the Vizag refinery would help the company achieve about 93 per cent conversion of bottom oils into high-value products, the company said in a statement.

 

Several Indian refiners, including HPCL, have previously been unable to process Venezuelan crude due to its extra-heavy and highly acidic nature. Recent upgrades at HPCL’s refineries, however, could change that.

 

“Besides being bottom-heavy, Venezuelan crude also has high viscosity and a high acid number. We will evaluate it as and when we are offered (Venezuelan crude),” said Rajneesh Narang, HPCL’s director of finance.

 

Mukesh Ambani-backed Reliance Industries and Russia-backed Nayara Energy were the top Indian buyers of Venezuelan crude prior to US sanctions imposed on Caracas.

 

US President Donald Trump, after recognising Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro as illegitimate, said American oil companies would “rebuild the oil infrastructure” of the South American nation.

 

According to a Reuters report, Reliance is in talks with US authorities to resume purchases of Venezuelan oil. Due to European Union sanctions, Nayara would not be able to resume Venezuelan oil purchases.

 

“Historically, sustained processing has been concentrated at Reliance’s Jamnagar complex and Nayara’s Vadinar refinery, both configured to handle high-sulphur, heavy crudes. Limited volumes have also been processed intermittently at Indian Oil Corporation’s Paradip refinery, Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals, and HPCL-Mittal Energy, but not all public-sector refineries currently have the configuration or operational flexibility to run these acidic (high total acid number) and extra-heavy Venezuelan grades at scale,” said Sumit Ritolia, lead research analyst for refining and modelling at maritime intelligence firm Kpler.

 

On business expansion, HPCL aims to focus on consumer-facing businesses such as marketing and revamping retail fuel outlets in the coming years, management said. 

Refining option

• Residue Upgradation Facility (RUF) at Visakh refinery and the upcoming Barmer refinery could enable handling of extra-heavy crude
• RUF can achieve 93% conversion of bottom oils into high-value products
• Earlier, only Reliance and Nayara processed Venezuelan crude at scale in India
• HPCL to focus on marketing and retail fuel outlets