Adani Likely to Join Hands with IOC for Mundra Port Oil Refinery Project

The Adani Group and Indian Oil Corporation are in talks to build a ₹30,000 crore refinery at Mundra Port in Gujarat. The refinery will have a capacity of 30 million tonne. 

In July, BJP-led environment ministry granted permission to develop an 8481 hectare coastal plot of land in western India.

The joint venture with IOC would give Adani Group an entry into the oil sector, while the state-run firms would get port facilities for the proposed export-focused unit.

Adani has reportedly offered around 3,500 to 4,000 acres of land for the project and would hold a minority stake in it, according to The Economic Times. The companies currently have a joint venture in city gas distribution.

"If the deal works out, it will provide IOC land with port facility adjacent to it on the western coast of India," ET quoted a spokesperson from IOC.

The Indian Oil Group operates 10 of India's 22 oil refineries with capacity of 65.7 million metric tonnes per year.

IOC advisers have selected Ratnagiri, Kandla and Mundra on the western coast, with Mundra being the top priority as Ratnagiri and Kandla would require heavy investments.

On Wednesday, Adani Ports reported 36 percent surge with net profit of ₹568 crore for the quarter ended 30 June. The company's profit in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal was ₹417.50 crore.

"We had a robust quarter with growth of all major cargo categories and we continue to maintain our EBIDTA margins at a high level of 70% in our port business. Our focus is on leveraging the benefits of our increasing scale and the resulting efficiencies through our pan India presence," Sudipa Bhattacharya, chief executive officer of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone, said in a press statement.

At 2 pm on Thursday, stocks of Adani Ports fell 0.32 percent recording at ₹267.65 per share.