Even as Rajasthan government inches towards starting refinery at Pachpadra, the oil fields n Barmer has seen 17% dip in production over one year.
According to Economic Review 2024-25, the crude oil production from oil wells have dropped to 66,000-67,000 barrels per day from 79,000-80,000 barrels of oil per day.
Notwithstanding, Rajasthan continues to contribute 14.95 percent (4.39 million metric tonnes per annum) to total crude oil production (29.36 MMTPA) in the country.
The BuckStopper tried to contact T Ravikanth, principal secretary mines and petroleum department for the reason behind the drop in production. We will update when we get the response from principal secretary.
The revenue to the state government from oil and natural gas sector also took a hit. The revenue accrued up to December 2024 is Rs 2,078.21 crore as against revenue of Rs 3,425.08 crore collected during fiscal 2023-24.
Work at Pachpadra refinery in progress
The work at HPCL Rajasthan Refinery Ltd. (HRRL), which is a joint venture between Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) and Government of Rajasthan (GoR), with an equity contribution of 74 per cent (₹17,991 crore) and 26 per cent (₹6,321 crore) respectively is progressing well.
The 9 MMTPA Refinery, which will produce BS-VI standard products, is the first in India to be integrated with a Petrochemical complex.
The project had commenced on 16 January, 2018 and now the cost has been to Rs 72,937 crore. This is funded by debt equity ratio 2:1.
Upto December, 2024, work orders amounting to Rs 71,509 crore have been issued and expenditure of Rs 52,332.50 crore has been incurred on various site-related activities.
“Approximately 84 per cent of the project work has been completed and more than 24,000 workers are employed in this project. An amount of Rs 3,734.91 crore has been paid to HRRL, out of the total Rs 6,321 crore, representing 26 per cent equity of the State government,” the Economic Review 2024-25 stated.
Ram Kumar Kaushik is a seasoned journalist with over 25 years of experience across mediums. The architect of this news website, he is also a consultant with several media groups. He was formerly the group managing editor of ITV Network (NewsX, India News and The Sunday Guardian) and its digital products.
