Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) commissions 3.55 million tonnes-per-year residue upgradation facility at Visakhapatnam refinery

Key facts

• Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) has commissioned a 3.55 million tonnes-per-year residue upgradation facility (RUF) at its Visakhapatnam refinery.
• The facility includes India's first residue hydrocracking unit and the world's first LC-Max unit.
• The unit is capable of converting approximately 93 per cent of low-value bottom-of-the-barrel oils into high-value petroleum products.
• The project lifts the Visakhapatnam refinery's Nelson Complexity Index to 11.6, making it one of India's most advanced deep-conversion refineries.
• The new unit will increase distillate yields at the refinery by up to 10 per cent from pre-modernisation levels.
• The facility features three LC-Max reactors weighing about 2,200 tonnes each, which are among the heaviest globally.
• Engineers India Ltd (EIL) provided project management consultancy services for the facility, while Larsen & Toubro (L&T) served as the engineering, procurement, and construction contractor.