Tarun Kapoor, advisor to the Prime Minister and former secretary of the ministry of petroleum and natural gas, recently conducted a comprehensive review of two strategically significant energy projects in northeast India: the Numaligarh Refinery Expansion Project (NREP) and the Assam Bio-Ethanol Private Limited (ABEPL) plant.
Site Visit and Inauguration
Kapoor visited Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) on Friday, April 24, for detailed site inspections of both projects. He also inaugurated the semi-regenerative reforming (SRR) unit and the distributed control system (DCS) in the diesel hydrotreater (DHT) unit at the refinery. These state-of-the-art additions mark a significant milestone in NRL’s journey toward enhanced refining capacity and digital operational excellence.
National Importance
“These projects are of national importance and the government is closely monitoring their progress. NRL is scripting a new chapter in India’s energy security and green fuel future,” Kapoor said. During the visit, NRL officials briefed him on the stabilisation phase underway at ABEPL and the ramp-up plans toward full-scale production.
Numaligarh Refinery Expansion Project
The NREP is a brownfield initiative aimed at tripling NRL’s refining capacity from 3 million metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA) to 9 MMTPA, with completion targeted for December 2026. Approximately 85% of the overall work has been completed, with an estimated expenditure of Rs 27,601 crore so far. However, the project has seen cost escalations, with NRL submitting a revised proposal of Rs 33,901 crore to the Centre, up from the originally approved Rs 28,026 crore. This proposal is currently under active consideration of the Public Investment Board.
Assam Bio-Ethanol Plant
The second project, ABEPL, is an equally groundbreaking venture. The Rs 4,930-crore facility, inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in September 2025, is the world’s first commercial second-generation bioethanol plant using bamboo as feedstock. It has a production capacity of 49,000 metric tonnes per annum of ethanol. The project is a joint venture of NRL, Fortum 3 BV, and Chempolis Oy of Finland. Besides ethanol, the plant will also annually produce 19,000 tonnes of furfural, 11,000 tonnes of acetic acid, 32,000 tonnes of liquid CO2, and 25 MW of green power.
