Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Apr 20: A Day before the inauguration of the facility in the hands of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a massive fire broke out at the refinery-cum-petrochemical complex in Baltora district in Rajasthan on Monday afternoon sending huge black clouds of smoke in the air.
Confirming the incident, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) said the fire broke out in the vicinity of the crude distillation unit of the HPCL Rajasthan Refinery Limited (HRRL) refinery. Consequently, it added, the inauguration has been postponed.
“Due to an unfortunate fire incident today in the vicinity of the crude distillation unit at the HRRL refinery, the scheduled dedication of the refinery by the Honourable Prime Minister on April 21 has been postponed,” the Ministry said on social media. “A revised date for the dedication will be announced in due course.”
The Ministry confirmed that there have been no reports of any causalities, and an investigation has been ordered to ascertain the cause and suggest remedial measures. It stated that the fire has been bought under control.
For context, in a refinery, the crude distillation unit acts as a sorting station for a refinery that distils raw crude into varied fractions before they can be sent to varied processing units to be made into final products. The Ministry further confirmed that there have been no reports of any causalities.
The HPCL Rajasthan Refinery Limited (HRRL) refinery is a greenfield refinery-cum-petrochemical complex with an overall capacity of 9 million tonnes per annum (MMTPA) with 2.4 MMTPA accounting for its petrochemical production capacity. HRRL is a ₹79,459 crore joint venture between HPCL and the Government of Rajasthan, with the latter holding an equity stake of 26%. It is expected to play a crucial role in strengthening India’s energy security by reducing dependence on imports and enhancing domestic production capabilities.
The refinery’s foundation stone was first laid on September 22, 2013, by Sonia Gandhi during the tenure of the Ashok Gehlot-led government in the state, with an initial estimated cost of Rs 37,230 crore. After a change in government, PM Modi re-launched the project on January 16, 2018, revising the cost to Rs 43,129 crore.
Beyond fuel production, the refinery is expected to generate significant quantities of downstream petrochemical products. These will serve as high-quality raw materials for upcoming industrial units in the region. Industries based on products such as polypropylene, polyethylene (HDPE/LLDPE), benzene, toluene, and butadiene are likely to be made, paving the way for a robust industrial ecosystem.
These materials will support the manufacturing of a wide range of goods, including plastic furniture, agricultural pipes, packaging films, automobile components, synthetic fibres, medical equipment, and chemicals like paints and detergents. This integrated development is expected to significantly enhance the refinery’s utility and strengthen Rajasthan’s position as an emerging hub for value-added manufacturing at both national and global levels.
