Gujarat Refinery
Corporate brand
UnclaimedAn Indian Oil Corporation refinery at Koyali in Gujarat, serving petroleum-product demand in western and northern India.
Last updated August 25, 2026
AI crawler reads
No AI crawler has read this profile yet.
Overview
Gujarat Refinery is an oil refinery located at Koyali in Vadodara district, Gujarat, western India. It is operated by Indian Oil Corporation Limited and is described as the corporation’s third-largest refinery after the Paradip and Panipat refineries. The facility is an important refining and petrochemical-processing complex rather than a standalone consumer brand, supplying fuels, solvents, aromatics and other petroleum-derived products primarily to markets in western and northern India. The project originated in the early 1960s during a period of expanding India–Soviet industrial cooperation. A site for a refinery with an intended capacity of 2 million tonnes per year was selected on 17 April 1961, and Indian and Soviet engineers entered into a project-preparation agreement later that year. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru laid the foundation stone on 10 May 1963. The refinery began production in October 1965 with Soviet technical assistance. Its first crude distillation unit entered trial production on 11 October 1965 and reached its rated capacity in December. The refinery was formally dedicated to the nation on 18 October 1966 after the commissioning of a second crude distillation unit and a catalytic reforming unit. Over subsequent decades, Gujarat Refinery expanded from a facility designed to process crude from Gujarat oilfields into a more flexible complex capable of handling indigenous, Bombay High and imported crude. A third distillation unit was added in 1967, and later projects introduced vacuum distillation, visbreaking, bitumen blowing, fluid catalytic cracking, hydrocracking, hydrotreatment, delayed coking, isomerization and hydrogen-generation capabilities. These investments increased both crude-processing capacity and the share of higher-value products recovered from heavier refinery streams. The refinery also became associated with several technical and environmental milestones in India’s refining sector. In the 1993–94 period it commissioned the country’s first hydrocracker, designed to convert heavier crude fractions into higher-value products. In 1999 it commissioned what is described as India’s first diesel hydrodesulfurization unit, enabling production of lower-sulfur high-speed diesel, as well as a methyl tert-butyl ether unit supporting the removal of lead from motor fuels. The same year saw the commissioning of a centralized effluent-treatment plant that replaced four older treatment plants. A linear alkylbenzene facility, commissioned in 2004, used kerosene streams and was described as the world’s largest grassroots single-train kerosene-to-LAB unit at the time. Further fuel-quality projects were completed in the 2000s and early 2010s. Motor-gasoline quality-improvement facilities were commissioned in 2006. The Residue Upgradation Project, completed by 2011, increased the refinery’s ability to process high-sulfur residues, improved distillate yields and supported production of Bharat Stage III and IV gasoline and high-speed diesel. The project included hydrogen generation, sulfur recovery, diesel hydrotreatment, isomerization, vacuum-gas-oil hydrotreatment and delayed-coking facilities, along with a cogeneration plant and heat-recovery steam generator. The complex currently includes five atmospheric crude-distillation units and major secondary-processing facilities such as catalytic reforming, fluid catalytic cracking and hydrocracking. Its products include conventional petroleum fuels as well as benzene, toluene, mineral turpentine oil, food-grade hexane, solvents and kerosene. Distribution is supported by pipelines to Ahmedabad and connections with the Barauni–Kanpur pipeline system, in addition to rail and road transport. The refinery has been described as being under a planned expansion to 18 million tonnes per year, although the available reference material does not provide a completion date or confirmed final capacity.
History
Gujarat Refinery was conceived during the expansion of India’s petroleum infrastructure in the early 1960s. Following the Indo-Soviet Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation in February 1961, authorities selected a site at Koyali in Gujarat on 17 April 1961 for a refinery initially planned to process 2 million tonnes of crude annually. Indian and Soviet engineers signed an agreement for project preparation in October 1961. The foundation stone was laid by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on 10 May 1963. Built with Soviet assistance at a reported project cost of Rs. 26 crores, the refinery began production in October 1965. Its first crude-distillation unit, rated at 1 million tonnes per year, entered trial operation on 11 October and achieved its designed capacity on 6 December. By January 1966, throughput had exceeded the original design level. A second crude-distillation unit and catalytic reforming unit were commissioned in 1966, and President Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan dedicated the refinery to the nation on 18 October that year. A third 1-million-tonne distillation unit was commissioned in September 1967 to process crude from the Ankleshwar and North Gujarat fields. In December 1968, an Udex plant began producing benzene and toluene from catalytic-reforming feedstocks. Internal modifications increased capacity to approximately 4.2 million tonnes per year by 1974–75. During 1978–79, the refinery added a 3-million-tonne crude-distillation unit and associated vacuum-distillation, visbreaker and bitumen-blowing facilities. By 1980–81, the new unit was processing Bombay High crude as well as imported crude, representing an important expansion in the technical ability of Indian engineers to execute projects of that scale. Secondary-processing capacity continued to grow. A fluid catalytic cracking unit and feed-preparation facilities were commissioned in December 1982 to recover more valuable products from residue. The refinery also established pilot distillation facilities for n-heptane and light aluminium-rolling oils. Capacity was subsequently raised to about 9.5 million tonnes per year to accommodate greater volumes of indigenous crude. In 1993–94, Gujarat Refinery commissioned the country’s first hydrocracker, with a capacity of approximately 1.2 million tonnes per year, alongside feed preparation and hydrogen-generation units. The complex thereby gained the ability to convert heavier crude fractions into higher-value products. In June 1999, it commissioned a diesel hydrodesulfurization unit, described in the reference material as India’s first, to reduce sulfur in diesel. A methyl tert-butyl ether unit followed in September 1999, supporting unleaded motor-fuel production. The refinery also consolidated its wastewater treatment infrastructure through a centralized effluent-treatment plant commissioned in 1999. An atmospheric-distillation expansion completed by September 1999 raised stated refinery capacity to 13.7 million tonnes per year. In August 2004, the refinery commissioned a linear alkylbenzene plant based on kerosene streams. The facility was described as the world’s largest grassroots single-train kerosene-to-LAB unit, with an installed capacity of 1.2 million tonnes per year. Gasoline quality-improvement facilities followed in 2006. The Residue Upgradation Project was completed by 2011. It increased the plant’s ability to process high-sulfur feedstock, improved distillate yields and enabled production meeting Bharat Stage III and IV fuel specifications. The project’s south block included hydrogen generation, sulfur recovery, diesel hydrotreatment and isomerization units, while the north block included vacuum-gas-oil hydrotreatment and delayed coking. Supporting cogeneration and heat-recovery steam-generation facilities were also commissioned. The refinery’s current configuration includes five atmospheric crude-distillation units, catalytic reforming, fluid catalytic cracking and hydrocracking, together with multiple hydrotreatment, residue-processing and specialty-product facilities. It distributes products through pipelines toward Ahmedabad and through a connection to the Barauni–Kanpur pipeline system, as well as by rail and road. The available reference describes a planned expansion to 18 million tonnes per year but does not state when that expansion will be completed.
- 2011
Residue Upgradation Project completed
[1]The project expanded high-sulfur residue processing, improved distillate yield and supported Bharat Stage III and IV fuel production.
- 2004
Linear alkylbenzene unit commissioned
[1]A 1.2-million-tonne-per-year kerosene-to-linear-alkylbenzene unit entered service.
- 1999
Diesel desulfurization and environmental upgrades
[1]Diesel hydrodesulfurization, methyl tert-butyl ether and centralized effluent-treatment facilities were commissioned.
- 1993
First Indian hydrocracker
[1]The refinery commissioned what the reference describes as India’s first hydrocracker, together with hydrogen-generation and feed-preparation facilities.
- 1982
Fluid catalytic cracking commissioned
[1]A fluid catalytic cracking unit and feed-preparation facilities were commissioned to increase recovery of valuable products from residue.
- 1968
Aromatics production added
[1]An Udex plant began producing benzene and toluene.
- 1967
Third distillation unit commissioned
[1]A third 1-million-tonne-per-year distillation unit was added to process Gujarat crude.
- 1966
Refinery dedicated to the nation
[1]A second crude-distillation unit and catalytic reforming unit were commissioned, and the refinery was formally dedicated in October.
- 1965
Production begins
[1]The first crude-distillation unit began trial production in October and reached rated capacity in December.
- 1963
Foundation stone laid
[1]Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru laid the foundation stone for the refinery on 10 May.
Products and positioning
A large, technically diversified public-sector refinery and petroleum-processing complex serving western and northern India, with capabilities spanning fuels, residue upgrading, specialty products and environmental treatment.
Transportation fuel
Gasoline
Motor gasoline is produced through the refinery’s crude-distillation and conversion system. Gasoline-quality improvement facilities commissioned in 2006 supported the production of fuels meeting evolving Indian specifications, including Bharat Stage standards referenced in the refinery’s upgrading history.
Transportation fuel · 1999
High-speed diesel
High-speed diesel is one of the refinery’s principal petroleum products. Diesel hydrotreatment and hydrodesulfurization facilities allow the complex to reduce sulfur and improve product quality, while the Residue Upgradation Project increased distillate recovery from heavier feedstocks.
Petrochemical intermediate · 2004
Linear alkylbenzene
Linear alkylbenzene is produced from kerosene streams in a dedicated unit commissioned in 2004. The facility was described as a very large single-train grassroots kerosene-to-LAB project, adding a specialty chemical stream to the refinery’s conventional fuel output.
Aromatic chemicals · 1968
Benzene and toluene
The refinery has produced benzene and toluene since the commissioning of its Udex plant in 1968. These aromatics are separated from refinery streams and form part of the complex’s specialty-product portfolio beyond transportation fuels.
Petroleum-derived chemicals
Specialty solvents
The refinery’s specialty output includes mineral turpentine oil, food-grade hexane and other solvents. These products broaden the facility’s market beyond bulk fuels and are made possible by its separation, conversion and product-treatment infrastructure.
Construction material
Bitumen
Bitumen is produced through residue-processing facilities that include bitumen blowing and other heavy-fraction conversion capabilities. It serves infrastructure and construction-related applications in addition to the refinery’s fuel markets.
Sources1 sources
Cite this profile: Cite the canonical profile. /brand-wiki/gujarat-refinery · Editorial policy · How profiles are compiled