NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian Oil Corp Ltd plans to increase the capacity of its Panipat refinery by two thirds to 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) at a cost of 231.16 billion rupees rupees ($3.64 billion), the country's largest refiner said on Wednesday.
India is increasing refining capacity to keep pace with the expected growth in fuel demand as Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks to boost the manufacturing sector.
The energy-hungry nation's refinery capacity has more-than-doubled since the start of the millennium to about 5 million bpd.
"Another step towards meeting our rapidly growing energy demand," Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said in a tweet, referring to the planned increase in capacity at Panipat.
Indian Oil didn't give a timeline for the expansion. The company, along with its subsidiary Chennai Petroleum Corp Ltd, has a total installed refining capacity of 1.6 million bpd, according to government data.
($1 = 63.5675 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Sudarshan Varadhan; Editing by Mark Potter)
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