Oil India to invest Rs 25,000 crore for net zero by 2040

In order to meet its objective of having net zero carbon emissions by 2040, state-owned Oil India Ltd wants to invest Rs 25,000 crore in sustainable energy projects, according to its chairman Ranjit Rath. In order to achieve net zero emissions, OIL will reduce gas flaring, commercialise stranded gas, set up renewable energy production capacity, create green hydrogen facilities, and establish biogas and ethanol plants.

The business intends to build an 80-kilometer pipeline to deliver natural gas from Arunachal Pradesh to Assam, replacing polluting liquid fuels in both industries and transportation. According to him, the company also plans to boost the flow of gas by converting some of the pipelines that were initially built to transport crude oil.

"Our Rs 25,000 crore pledge is for a range of operations, including compressed biogas facilities, renewable energy portfolio, and green hydrogen. CCUS projects, geothermal energy, the zero flaring strategy, and 2G ethanol facilities," he noted. OIL intends to invest over Rs 9,000 crore in 1,800 megawatts of solar and onshore wind energy projects, as well as Rs 3,000 crore in a project to produce green hydrogen. Additionally, projects for carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS) would receive Rs 1,000 crore in funding.

it has already finalised plans for 640 MW of solar projects in Assam and an additional 150 MW in Himachal Pradesh. He stated, "We are exploring ways to move the net zero aim to 2038. OIL joins other publicly traded companies who are spending billions of dollars to assist India become net-zero by 2070.

The largest oil company in the country, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), aims to reach net zero by 2046, while oil and gas giant ONGC has pledged an investment of Rs 2 lakh crore to reach net zero by 2038. While Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) aspires to achieve net zero carbon emissions from its operations by 2046, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and gas utility GAIL (India) Ltd are also pursuing that date.

Rath stated that OIL is working on a 4+ mission to increase gas output to 5 billion cubic metres and crude oil production to exceed 4 million tonnes. 3.2 million tonnes of crude were produced in 2022–2023 (April 2022–March 2023). We want to reach 3.8 million tonnes this year, and by 2024–25, we want to complete the 4+ mission, he said.

In order to accomplish this, a mix of increased exploration to access fresh reservoirs and technological advancements to boost output from existing fields will be used. In comparison to the previous year, which ran from April 2023 to March 2024, OIL has projected a capital expenditure of Rs 7,500 crore, he said.

"OIL has set for itself an ambitious target of transforming itself to a 'net-zero' emission company by 2040 through a range of initiatives, including adopting cleaner energy sources, investing in renewable energy projects, and implementing advanced technologies to minimise greenhouse gas emissions, for which about Rs 25,000 crore is envisaged to be invested by 2040," he said. The business aims to develop compressed biogas and renewable hydrogen.