After several years of conceptualization, Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) embarked on its journey 25 years ago, on December 28, 1999, with the establishment of its first refinery in Jamnagar, Gujarat. Over time, it steadily evolved into the world’s largest single-site refining complex. With his visionary leadership, the late Founder, Shri Dhirubhai Ambani, aspired to make India a global refining hub. Today, Jamnagar stands as a testament to his dream, an engineering marvel and a source of national pride.
Back then, the majority of experts doubted that an Indian company could build the world’s largest grassroots refinery in a record three years. Despite their skepticism, RIL achieved this feat in just 33 months—a world record—overcoming numerous challenges, including a lack of infrastructure and a severe cyclone that struck Jamnagar during the project's execution. Remarkably, the refinery was built at nearly 40 percent lower cost (per tonne) compared to contemporary refineries in Asia.
When the Founder Chairman, Dhirubhai Ambani, set out to fulfill his long-cherished dream of establishing a refinery, he was offered land in the barren and desolate region near Jamnagar, close to a sleepy village called Motikhavdi. Leading world-class project consultants advised against investing in the desert-like area, citing the absence of roads, electricity, and sufficient drinking water. They warned that mobilizing manpower, materials, technical experts, and other resources in such a remote location would require extraordinary efforts.
Undeterred by the naysayers, Dhirubhai—known for his love of challenges—proceeded with his vision. He sought to create not just an industrial plant but a ‘Nandanvan’ (paradise). Between 1996 and 1999, he and his highly motivated team constructed an engineering marvel in Jamnagar. This first private-sector refinery in India single-handedly added 25 percent to the nation’s total refining capacity, making India self-sufficient in transport fuels. The project transformed the barren region into a thriving industrial hub.
| Significance of Reliance Industries’ Jamnagar refinery |
| Particulars | Position |
| World’s largest integrated, single-site refinery complex | #1 |
| Manufacturing facilities | 14; India (11) and Malaysia (3) |
| Jamnagar Complex | 1.5%, global crude |
| PTA and PP | Top 5 producers globally |
| PX producer | #3rd largest, 4.6 MMTPA capacity |
| Petrochemical producer | #1 in India |
Source: Reliance Industries Ltd
India’s energy revolutionIn 1999, RIL established its first refinery on 5,000 acres of barren and desolate land in Motikhavdi village near Jamnagar. The project required billions of man-hours and a capital expenditure of US$ 3.4 billion to create the world’s largest grassroots refinery, with a capacity of 27 million tonnes. This facility ranks among the most complex refineries globally and is, by far, the most sophisticated refinery in India.
To bring this monumental project to fruition, RIL collaborated with world leaders in engineering, construction, licensing, and equipment supply. The refinery significantly reduced India’s dependence on fuel imports, enhancing energy security and conserving valuable foreign exchange. In 2008, RIL set up another refinery in the Special Economic Zone (SEZ), further cementing Jamnagar’s position as the world’s largest single-location refining center.
During the third phase of Jamnagar's expansion, RIL added some of the world’s largest and most innovative downstream facilities, including a refinery off-gas cracker, a petcoke gasifier, ethane imports, and an expanded polyester chain and polymer production capacity. Jamnagar is still evolving, as RIL’s commitment to achieving Net Zero by 2035 promises yet another transformation. Additionally, Jamnagar is poised to become the cradle of RIL’s New Energy business, with the imminent commissioning of the Dhirubhai Ambani New Energy Giga Complex.
RIL’s Jamnagar facility – world’s most complex refining hubRIL’s Jamnagar refining complex represented the largest industrial investment ever made by an Indian group at a single location. The refinery was equipped with several secondary processing units and a petrochemicals complex, which included the world’s largest paraxylene plant (1.4 million tonnes per annum, MTPA), the world’s largest polypropylene plant (0.6 MTPA), India’s largest all-weather port, captive power plants, and all associated infrastructure.
The refinery, one of the most sophisticated in the world, began operations with a Nelson Complexity Index of 9.93. This high level of complexity indicates substantial secondary processing capacity, enabling higher value addition and refining margins compared to less complex refineries. Over the years, RIL continued enhancing the refinery by adding secondary processing capacities, debottlenecking operations, and implementing upgrades.
In 2006, Reliance undertook another ambitious project to build a second refinery at Jamnagar, which became the sixth-largest in the world, boasting an even higher Nelson Complexity Index of 14. By 2009, when the second refinery was commissioned, Jamnagar had become the largest and most complex refining complex globally, with an average complexity of 12.7 on the Nelson Complexity Index.
RIL joined the ranks of the top 10 private refining companies worldwide and held 25 percent of the world’s most complex refining capacity. The company achieved the distinction of supplying ultra-pure grades of gasoline and diesel to environmentally conscious and quality-focused markets in the United States and Europe.
Processing 216 grades oilThe Jamnagar refinery complex houses some of the world's largest units, including the Fluidized Catalytic Cracker (FCC), Coker, Alkylation, Paraxylene, Polypropylene, Refinery Off-Gas Cracker (ROGC), and Petcoke Gasification plants. The refinery has processed over 216 different grades of crude oil from across the globe—an achievement that is perhaps unmatched by any other refinery.
With a complexity index of 21.1, the refinery’s configuration provides exceptional versatility, enabling it to process almost all grades of crude oil and meet the increasingly stringent and differentiated product specifications demanded by global markets. The facilities at Jamnagar allow the company to produce products that comply with the strictest environmental standards, giving RIL a significant competitive advantage in catering to diverse markets worldwide. The refinery's significant flexibility in grade-switching capabilities for gasoline and gasoil allows RIL to capitalize on market opportunities and adapt efficiently to demand dynamics by toggling between export and domestic markets.
High-quality logistics infrastructureRIL’s crude processing capacity is supported by a high-quality logistics infrastructure, including a state-of-the-art marine facility. This facility provides access for and accommodates ships ranging from gas carriers and small chemical carriers to the world’s largest crude oil tankers (VLCCs) and product vessels. The company also operates the largest petcoke gasifier in the world, designed to run on both coal and petcoke, offering flexibility to optimize operations based on raw material costs. The petcoke gasification units enable the extraction of maximum value from each barrel of crude oil, converting the bottom-of-the-barrel residues into high-value energy.
RIL successfully commissioned and stabilized the world’s largest Paraxylene complex. Additionally, the company commissioned and achieved design throughput of the world’s largest Refinery Off-Gas Cracker (ROGC) complex at Jamnagar. RIL is India’s largest integrated petrochemical producer and the world’s largest integrated polyester producer. It is among the top five global producers of Purified Terephthalic Acid (PTA) and Polypropylene (PP), ranks third globally in Paraxylene (PX) production, and is in the top quartile for cost efficiency, safety, and operational excellence.
Oil-to-chemical portfolioRIL’s Oil-to-Chemical (O2C) business comprises world-class refining and petrochemical manufacturing assets located at Jamnagar, Hazira, Dahej, Nagothane, Vadodara, Patalganga, Silvassa, Barabanki, and Hoshiarpur in India, as well as Nilai, Melaka, and Kuantan in Malaysia. It also includes the fuel retailing partnership with BP, known as Reliance BP Mobility Limited (RBML), operating under the Jio-BP brand, and the Butyl Rubber joint venture with Reliance Sibur Elastomers Private Limited.
The integrated O2C business structure enables a unified decision-making approach, allowing for the maximization and optimization of the entire value chain—from crude oil processing to refining, petrochemicals, and the B2B/B2C model. Through its O2C business, RIL has focused on building new capacities, strengthening its market positions, and establishing its refinery and petrochemical businesses as some of the largest, most integrated, and most competitive in the world.
DILIP KUMAR JHA
Editor
dilip.jha@polymerupdate.com
