Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd has commissioned a residue upgradation facility (RUF) at its Visakhapatnam refinery, significantly enhancing deep-conversion capability, distillate output and profitability, the company said.

The 3.55 million tonnes-per-year facility houses India’s first residue hydrocracking unit and the world’s first LC-Max unit, capable of converting around 93 per cent of low-value bottom-of-the-barrel oils into high-value petroleum products. The commissioning marks a major step towards increasing India’s refining complexity and reducing reliance on imported fuels.

HPCL said the new unit will raise distillate yields at the Visakhapatnam refinery by up to 10 per cent from pre-modernisation levels and substantially improve gross refining margins. This will be achieved through greater flexibility to process heavier and opportunity crudes, along with a superior product slate and higher value realisation per barrel.

The facility has been commissioned as part of the Visakh Refinery Modernisation Project, lifting the refinery’s Nelson Complexity Index to 11.6 and placing it among the most advanced deep-conversion refineries in India. The higher middle-distillate output is expected to narrow the gap between HPCL’s diesel marketing and refining volumes, reduce dependence on external sourcing, strengthen the supply chain and support higher profitability.

The RUF features three LC-Max reactors, each weighing around 2,200 tonnes, making them among the heaviest such units globally. HPCL said several critical equipment components were manufactured domestically, in line with the government’s Aatmanirbhar Bharat self-reliance initiative. Improved heat integration and process efficiency have also reduced the refinery’s energy intensity, lowering operating costs and supporting sustainability goals.

In addition to physical commissioning, HPCL has deployed a digital optimisation suite for the LC-Max unit, integrating real-time monitoring, predictive analytics and AI-driven optimisation to enhance operational stability, yields and on-stream performance.

In a separate statement, Engineers India Ltd said the commissioning of the RUF, featuring the world’s first and largest LC-Max unit, represents a major milestone for India’s refining sector and sets a global benchmark for scale and technological complexity. EIL provided comprehensive project management consultancy services for the facility, while Larsen & Toubro executed the project as the engineering, procurement and construction contractor.