Reliance Industries’ Jamnagar Refinery marked its 25th anniversary this week. Established by Dhirubhai Ambani in 1999 the refinery stands as a testament to his visionary leadership. Not only did Dhirubhai create a global refinery hub but he also addressed the energy needs of the nation. This is the world’s largest integrated and single-site refinery with the capacity to process 1.4 million barrels per day (approximately 2.2 lakh kilometers). As India’s first private-sector refinery it single-handedly contributed 25% to the country’s total refining capacity.

In addition the refinery boasts a complexity index of 21:1 enabling it to transform heavy crude oil into high-quality petroleum products. Jamnagar is referred to as the jewel of Reliance Industries.

In 1990 when India did not have adequate capacity to process crude oil Dhirubhai Ambani envisioned establishing a petroleum refinery. He realised this vision alongside his elder son Mukesh Ambani. The refinery was built in a record time of just 33 months and it began operations on December 25 1999.

According to Moneycontrol Jamnagar refinery has the capacity to process 1.4 million barrels of crude oil per day. The complexity index indicates the types of oil being processed by the refinery. Heavy crude oil which contains higher levels of Sulfur is more challenging to process. 

This refinery has processed around 216 kinds of oil from across the world. In addition to this it has the worlds largest Para Xylene complex and refinery of gas crackers. Reliance makes a large chunk of revenue from Oil-to-chemical business. This business involves refining petrochemicals aviation fuel and bulk marketing.