Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri on Friday said that petrochemical refinery project in Ratnagiri was not viable due to its size — 60 Million Metric Tonnes Per Annum (MMTPA ) — and the government is considering to setup three separate refineries of 20 MMPTA capacity each in three different locations of the country. However, the minister did not specify whether Ratnagiri will be one of the proposed locations for the three refineries. “No one in India or the world had an experience to build something on such large scale. Our position right now is that instead of 60 MMTPA refinery, we are looking at the possibility of setting up the three refineries of the annual production capacity of 20MMTPa. Discussions regarding this are going on right now behind the scene,” Puri said in a press conference in Mumbai. When asked that if the refinery project had any future in Ratnagiri, Puri said, “Not as big as 60 MMTPA as there were some difficulties in doing so. But may be a smaller refinery of 20-25 MMTPA may come up.” Responding to a question whether the refinery is being moved out to a southern state, he said, “There were just talks (of the refinery coming up). So it’s not that the refinery came and now it's being shifted. Now the talks are of setting up three refineries of 20 MMTPA capacity in three different places. There is no decision yet on the locations.” The Ratnagiri Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (RRPCL), promoted by the three major public sector oil companies — Indian Oil Corporation Ltd, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd — was originally planned in Nanar village of Ratnagiri district. However the undivided Shiv Sena had opposed the project citing local opposition, after which Barsu-Solgaon area was finalised as the location. However, large-scale protests by villagers stalled work in early 2023 after the state government led by the then chief minister Eknath Shinde and his deputy Devendra Fadnavis started survey work and soil testing in Barsu, forcing the administration to deploy a huge police force. The residents of Barsu-Solgaon and neighbouring villages raised concerns about the project’s potential impact on the environment and livelihoods of local communities which are mostly dependent on the cultivation of mango, jack fruit and cashew besides fishing. All the villages in the region have passed resolutions opposing the project. The project site is also in an ecologically sensitive region. Puri was speaking in Mumbai, ahead of the India Energy Week 2025, scheduled to be held from February 11t o 14 in New Delhi. The Union minister said that the event will be the second-largest energy event globally, in terms of participation, exhibition space, and sessions.
