Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd. (HPCL) has awarded Technip Energies an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract worth €250-500 million in revenue for two units at its 9.5-million tonne/year Mumbai refinery in Maharashtra, India. The award, disclosed Oct. 12, covers the core process units of the refiner's lube modernization and bottoms upgradation (LMBU) project.

The scope includes a 550,000-tpy integrated hydrocracker and catalytic dewaxing (IHCD) unit — a combination that converts heavy feed while lowering the pour point of lube stocks — and an 850,000-tpy solvent deasphalting (SDA) unit, which separates asphaltenes from residual oil. Both units will be integrated into the operating refinery, Technip Energies said in a release.

Technip Energies did not disclose the precise contract value but confirmed the order falls within its €250-500 million revenue band. The award follows HPCL's earlier licensing deal with Chevron Lummus Global for the technologies outfitting the IHCD unit.

What will the new units produce?

The units aim to increase output of lube oil base stocks (LOBS), the feedstock for automotive engine oils and industrial lubricants, while upgrading heavier refinery streams into higher-value products, according to the service provider.

HPCL's Jan. 23, 2025 release set the project's targets:

• Raise Mumbai refinery LOBS capacity to 764,000 tpy from 475,000 tpy, including Group II+ and Group III base stocks
• Increase bitumen production by about 487,000 tpy through fuel oil upgrading
• Improve distillate yield by about 4%

In short, the project shifts the refinery's slate toward lubricants and bitumen at the expense of low-value fuel oil.

How far along is the project?

HPCL began work on the LMBU project in the third quarter of its 2025 fiscal year at an estimated cost of 46.79 billion rupees (US$541.1 million). The budget has since risen to 57.40 billion rupees (US$600.4 million), HPCL said in an investor presentation dated May 13, 2026.

Physical completion stood at 9.9% as of Mar. 31, 2026. Full completion is scheduled for March 2028, giving the refinery roughly two years to absorb the new units.

The €250-500 million EPC award to Technip Energies moves the LMBU project from licensing into execution, with the March 2028 completion date now the number to watch.