Yes, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited is a government company. It is an Indian public sector Maharatna oil and gas company, which functions under the administrative control of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India. Founded on 24th January 1976, Bharat Petroleum has evolved over the course of half a century to become India’s second-largest government-owned downstream oil producer.
Bharat Petroleum operates in both downstream and upstream segment. Its core activities include refining of crude oil and production and marketing of a number of hydrocarbon products like petrol, diesel, compressed natural gas, liquefied natural gas, lubricants and more.
Here is a quick overview of Bharat Petroleum
| Details | Info |
| Founded | 24th January 1976 |
| Founder | Government of India |
| Headquarters | Mumbai, Maharashtra, India |
| Chairman | Sanjay Khanna |
| Industry | Oil and Gas |
| Products | Petroleum, Natural Gas, Petrochemicals, Lubricants |
| Owner | Government of India |
| Number of Employees | 8,506 permanent and 25,848 contractual, as of March 2024 |
Company History
Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited traces its origins to Burmah-Shell Oil Storage and Distributing Company of India Limited, a joint venture between Asiatic Petroleum Company (India) and Burma Oil Company. It started supplying LPG cooking gas cylinders to Indian homes in the 1950s and also supplied kerosene, diesel and petrol across India. In the year 1951, Burmah-Shell commenced building a refinery at Trombay in Mumbai under an agreement with the Government of India.
On 24th January 1976, the Government of India acquired full ownership of the Indian operations of Burmah-Shell, forming Bharat Refineries Limited. In the year 1977, it was renamed Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited. BPCL was the first entity to refine indigenous crude oil from Mumbai High Field.
In the period between 1980s to 2000s, BPCL expanded its refining capacity and focused on petrochemicals and upstream exploration. The company was awarded a Maharatna status by the GOI in the year 2017. It was ranked 309th on the 2020 Fortune Global 500 List of the world’s biggest corporations and 1052nd on the Fortune Global 2000 List in 2023.
Current Status
Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited operates three refineries located at Mumbai, Kochi and Bina. Mumbai refinery has a capacity of 13 million metric tonnes per annum. Kochi refinery has a capacity of 15.5 million metric tonnes per annum. Bina refinery has a capacity of 7.8 million metric tonnes per annum.
The company has a network of 21,142 fuel stations across India, which includes 14,856 automated fuel stations. It supplies domestic LPG gas to over 80 million homes under the brand name Bharat Gas through a network of over 6,042 distributors.
Future Outlook
Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited aims to quadruple its market share and double its profits in the next five years. The company is also focusing on diversifying into biofuels, renewables and green hydrogen. BPCL is expanding the refining capacity of its Bina Refinery, aiming to reach 300,000 bpd by 2026.
