Chennai Petroleum Plans to Expand Manali Refinery Capacity by a Third to 280,000 bpd
Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited (CPCL), a subsidiary of Indian Oil Corporation, has said it plans to expand the refining capacity of its Manali refinery in Tamil Nadu by nearly a third, from the current 210,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 280,000 bpd. The company disclosed the expansion plan in its 2025-26 annual report.
The Manali refinery currently processes crude oil into a range of products including LPG, motor spirit, aviation turbine fuel, high speed diesel, naphtha, bitumen, lube base stocks and petrochemical feedstocks. CPCL has not announced a specific timeline for the expansion, though the company has previously indicated it expects a feasibility study on the project by October 2026 to help determine the cost and configuration of new units.
Alongside the Manali expansion, CPCL and its parent IOC plan to reconfigure the proposed Cauvery Basin refinery project in Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu, to increase its petrochemical production capabilities. The Cauvery project had earlier been planned as a 180,000 bpd refinery, with IOC holding a 75% stake and CPCL the remainder.
CPCL has also entered the fuel retailing business, having opened its first retail outlet in March, and plans to establish around 300 fuel outlets across India by mid-2028. The expansion plans come as India's refining sector sees rising investment, with the International Energy Agency noting that oil refining and solar capacity additions are together driving a significant share of the country's energy investment growth.