EIL in talks with stakeholders to enter nuclear sector, targeting SMRs: MD

The EPC major has received Rs. 190 crore of orders from UAE's ADNOC in FY25

State-owned Engineers India Limited (EIL) is in talks with global players to raise its nuclear energy play, both in the conventional nuclear space as well as for small modular reactors (SMR), Chairperson and Managing Director (MD) Vartika Shukla said on Wednesday.

 

The leading engineering, procurement and consulting (EPC) company is also doubling down on its United Arab Emirates office, having seen a major rise in orders.

 

Speaking on the sidelines of the ongoing India Energy Week on Wednesday, Shukla said the company is eyeing a consistent strategy to enter the nuclear space.

 

“It (nuclear) is a difficult area to penetrate. We did the Kudankulam plant. We are doing some small work for the Gorakhpur plant for the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited. We have made some little inroads into the nuclear sector. We will see how to work that out further. But our aspirations will be converted into reality because we are in conversation at many fronts,” Shukla said.

 

The nuclear play would be span design, engineering and pub project management consultancy (PMC) services, she added.

 

India is keen on entering the global manufacturing value chain for SMRs which are advanced nuclear reactors that have a power capacity of up to 300 MW(e) per unit, and is currently engaged with the United States and France for the same.

 

Shukla revealed EIL has secured ₹190 crore worth of orders from the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company in the current financial year, higher than the existing ₹140 crore orders from the country in FY24.

 

It plans to mirror this performance in Saudi Arabia as well, targeting the national oil company Aramco.

 

“Right now we are empanelled in all the sectors with Aramco, including refining, petrochemical, offshore, etc. We’ll see how we work around with them,” she said.

 

EIL is also constructing mega LPG storage facilities for oil marketing company HPCL in Mangalore inside hard granite caverns. It plans to operationalise the LPG caverns by second quarter of the financial year 2026 (Q2FY26) at a cost of ₹850-900 crore. The caverns are 160 metres deep, and can store up to 80,000 metric tonnes of LPG. EIL is also doing a feasibility report to determine the capacity of the salt caverns in and around Bikaner, Rajasthan which it plans to turn into crude storage units.

 

Speaking on EIL’s recent MoU with energy giant BP, Shukla said it will give the company’s services a “global flavour”, allowing it to collaborate across hydrocarbon verticals including refining, offshore, ports and liquefied natural gas across the world. She said EIL will work out a mechanism to offer design and engineering services.

 

The company is aiming to acquire assets in renewables as part of its plans to reach net zero status. EIL is also assessing equity investments in technology startups, with use cases in energy.