Indian state oil refiners plan 1.2 mln bpd plant on west coast

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Three Indian state-run oil refiners will jointly build a 60 million tonnes a year, or 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd), refinery on the country's west coast, the Union Oil Minister said on Monday, adding the investment for the first phase of the refinery could exceed 1 trillion rupees ($14.8 billion). Indian Oil Corp. Ltd, Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd and Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd along with another state-run company, Engineers India Ltd, will design for an 800,000 bpd capacity in the first phase of the refinery in Maharashtra state, Dharmendra Pradhan said on Twitter. India is seen as the most important driver of energy demand growth in the world in the years to come with its oil consumption seen rising by 6 million bpd to about 10 million bpd by 2040, according to the International Energy Agency. Reliance Industries Ltd, controlled by India's richest man Mukesh Ambani, currently operates the world's biggest single-location refinery complex, in the western Gujarat state, with a capacity to process about 1.2 million bpd of crude. The planned refinery will produce gasoline, diesel and other products as well as feedstock for petrochemical plants, Pradhan said, adding his ministry would work with the provincial government for early identification of land and finalising project details. The minister did not give a timeline for setting up the refinery. ($1 = 67.6943 Indian rupees) (Reporting by Promit Mukherjee and Nidhi Verma; Editing by Greg Mahlich)