Hyderabad: After several unsuccessful attempts in the past, Andhra Pradesh chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu negotiated with the chairman and managing director of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) Gopalan Krishnakumar and his team on Wednesday (July 10) regarding the setting up of an oil refinery and petrochemical complex on the vast coastline of the state.
The meeting took place at the secretariat at Velagapudi in Amaravati within five days of Naidu meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union petroleum minister Hardeep Singh Puri in Delhi.
The Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act required the establishment of an oil refinery as part of a broader plan for sustainable development in the successor states of the undivided Andhra Pradesh, to be completed within a decade of the state’s bifurcation in 2014.
The Naidu-led Telugu Desam Party (TDP) had vigorously pursued the project as a key partner of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government at the Centre, until it severed ties with the alliance in 2019, citing the Centre’s inaction on various issues raised by the State government during its previous term from 2014 to 2019. However, the Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy government, which came to power in 2019, had all but given up on the project by 2024, as the NDA, with its comfortable majority in parliament, no longer needed the support of Jagan’s YSR Congress to survive, rendering the state’s efforts futile.
A retired IAS officer of Andhra Pradesh cadre told The Wire that BPCL had expansion plans for its refinery in Visakhapatnam earlier but never forayed into new projects in the state until now.
Naidu’s meeting with the high-level delegation of BPCL – shortly after he returned to power – assumes significance as the TDP has played a pivotal role in the formation of the NDA government at the Centre by pledging the support of 16 MPs.
After a detailed discussion of the project, the delegation promised to deliver a feasibility report to the government by October, which will outline the viability of the project worth Rs 60,000 to 70,000 crore.
Besides Naidu, the meeting was also attended by state industries minister T.G. Bharath and Machilipatnam TDP MP Vallabhaneni Balashowry.
Also read: Naidu and Nitish, Shadows of Their Past, Won’t Do Anything Radical to Upset the BJP
According to a press release, Naidu has agreed to provide BPCL with the necessary land at the identified location, following the delegation’s request for 5,000 acres of coastal land to establish an oil refinery and petrochemical corridor.
Sources said the meeting explored various coastal locations, with Naidu suggesting Srikakulam, Machilipatnam, and Ramayapatnam as his top choices. The delegation favoured Machilipatnam as the optimal site, which Naidu agreed to, but also requested the oil and gas major to explore possibilities in Srikakulam and Ramayapatnam also.
The chief minister has asked the visiting delegation to get back to him in three months after studying the feasibility of all three regions.
While the BPCL and the ministry of petroleum have not reacted to the meeting, Naidu took to social media platform X. He wrote: “Strategically placed on the eastern coast of the country, our state has a significant petrochemical potential. Today, I met with the representatives of the Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited led by Chairman and Managing Director, Mr Krishna Kumar.”
Strategically placed on the eastern coast of the country, our state has a significant petrochemical potential. Today, I met with the representatives of the Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited led by Chairman and Managing Director, Mr Krishna Kumar. We explored the establishment… pic.twitter.com/UT5S37Nst3
— N Chandrababu Naidu (@ncbn) July 10, 2024
To move things forward, Naidu emphasised the state’s strategic location on the eastern coast for industrial ventures like this, which would generate significant employment opportunities. The Centre is anticipated to make a formal announcement about the project in the upcoming Union budget on July 23.
This development would mark a significant concession by the Centre on a long-standing demand outlined in the State Reorganisation Act, ten years after its enactment. As per Section 93 of the Act, the Centre is mandated to fulfill the obligations listed in the Thirteenth Schedule “within ten years” from June 2, 2014, the date of the state’s bifurcation. Specifically, the Thirteenth Schedule requires Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited or Indian Oil Corporation to assess the viability of establishing a greenfield crude oil refinery and petrochemical complex in Andhra Pradesh within six months of June 2, 2014, and make a prompt decision on the matter.
