State-owned oil and gas company Indian Oil has unveiled an Rs2trn ($25 billion) investment plan to achieve net-zero operational emissions by 2046. The move was announced by Indian Oil chairman Shrikant Madhav Vaidya at the company's 63rd annual general meeting.

SM Vaidya, chairman of Indian Oil Corporation, said that when we are serious about embarking on our journey to net zero emissions, we already have a well-crafted blueprint. It takes a multi-pronged approach, gradually taking us towards a net zero goal. We envisage investing more than Rs. Rs 200 crore will be needed by 2046 to achieve this. For some time now, Indian Oil has been pushing a strong green agenda to steer the country's green energy transition. Therefore, we are already investigating several avenues for reducing emissions, such as green hydrogen, biofuels, renewable energy, offsetting carbon emissions through ecosystem restoration and carbon capture utilization and storage, etc.

Indian oil's current GHG emissions are mainly from refining operations, which are about 21.5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per year. Approximately 96% of total emissions are generated by direct fuel combustion to obtain energy from heat, steam, electricity and cooling, making up the company's Scope 1 emissions. The company's Scope-2 emissions contribute the remaining 4% and are generated by purchasing electricity from the grid.

Indian Oil Corporation and its subsidiary Chennai Oil Company account for nearly a third of India's 5 million barrels per day refining capacity. Chennai Petroleum's board has approved a proposal to form a joint venture to build a $33.95 billion refinery in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.Editor/XingWentao