India＇s BPCL to Invest Over $740 Mln in Petrochemicals Push

MUMBAI, India's Bharat Petroleum Corp on Wednesday said it will invest 45.88 billion rupees ($741.44 million) to diversify into the petrochemicals business, a move that will help the state refiner expand beyond refining and retailing and boost margins.

BPCL will produce niche petrochemical products, that are predominantly imported into the country, at its Kochi refinery using propylene that will be available once the ongoing refinery expansion is completed, the company said in a statement.

The state-owned company plans to boost capacity at its Kochi refinery in southern India to 310,000 barrels per day (bpd) from the current 190,000 bpd by May 2016.

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