IOC’s Gujarat Refinery to shut down for maintenance in phases till June-July

Two back-to-back accidents had rocked Gujarat Refinery in November 2024 where a couple of workers were killed.
| Photo Credit:
Dado Ruvic

The “periodic maintenance and overhaul” of Gujarat Refinery, which began in February, will continue till the end of June or July, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) officials said on Wednesday.

“Two units of our refinery have been shut down from today. We are shutting down in different phases and this process will continue till June or July. The refinery will not be shut completely. Currently, we have down to 60 per cent capacity. It could reduce further slightly,” said Biplob Biswas, Executive Director and refinery head of Gujarat Refinery.

“Our machinery and plants require periodic overhaul and maintenance. The catalyst that we use also has a life of its own and also needs to be replaced. We need to shut down periodically to undertake such work. Apart from this, as per government regulations, we need to test some equipment and submit the reports. For all these a shut down is needed. It started in February and this process will continue till June-July. We will be back to full operations after July,” he said.

Accident analysis

Two back-to-back accidents had rocked Gujarat Refinery in November 2024 where a couple of workers were killed. When asked about the recommendations of the high-level committee set up to inquire about the accident, Biswas said, “We have reviewed our entire safety system and have imposed strict conditions. We have also conducted a root-cause analysis of the accidents that took place and we have implemented the necessary counter measures. The refinery has been in operation for the last 60 years and it is designed in such a way that any incident can be contained within the refinery.”

When asked about the details of root-cause analysis conducted, the IOC official said: “It is not possible for us to disclose further details regarding the root-cause (of the accidents). Apart from IndianOil, our statutory bodies, including PNGRB, have also investigated (the accident) and given their respective recommendations. All of these have been implemented.”

Published on April 23, 2025