Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) is planning to discontinue its fuel exports within the next two to three years while simultaneously expanding its local retail network. This shift in focus is aimed at diversifying its revenue streams.
MRPL, a subsidiary of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), currently operates a coastal refinery in southern Karnataka with a capacity of 3,00,000 barrels per day. The majority of its production goes to state-owned refiners, which collectively own about 90% of India’s retail fuel stations, while the rest is exported.
MRPL has outlined plans to significantly increase the number of retail outlets in southern India from the current 71 to 1,800 by 2027. As reported by REUTERS, over the past six months, MRPL’s fuel exports, which used to include 2-3 cargoes of diesel and jet fuel each month, have faced challenges due to maintenance shutdowns at other refineries.
To address this, MRPL aims to run its refinery at approximately 107-108% capacity in the current fiscal year, compared to 115% the previous year. This adjustment includes scheduling a maintenance outage lasting 35-40 days for a 60,000 barrel per day crude unit and secondary units starting from late August.
As a result of this maintenance outage, MRPL intends to reduce its crude oil imports, including those from Russia, during the months of August and September. This decision is driven by the need to compensate for the reduced production capacity during the maintenance period.
