Mumbai, NFAPost:Indian Oil Corporation, India’s largest refiner and marketer of petroleum products, and Total, broad energy company with headquarters in Paris, France, announced the formation of a 50:50 joint venture company that will manufacture and market high-quality bitumen derivatives and specialty products for the growing road-building industry in India.
Total is the leading bitumen manufacturer and supplier in Europe, while Indian Oil is the largest player in the Indian bitumen market. The two companies have already an established business relationship in India, notably in LPG and fuel additives businesses.
The new JV will combine the R&D and marketing strengths of both Indian Oil and Total to manufacture and market innovative bitumen formulations and superior quality products such as polymer-modified bitumen, crumb rubber modified bitumen, bitumen emulsions and other specialty products.
Logistics solutions
The JV will set up manufacturing units across the country with cost-effective logistics solutions, keeping innovation, safety and sustainability at the helm of its operations. The JV will also explore possibilities to cater to other South Asian markets.
Total Chairman and CEO Patrick Pouyanné said India is a strategic country for the future of Total and we are delighted by this partnership, yet another testimony of our commitment to this fast-growing market.
“Today, Total is further cementing its longstanding business cooperation with Indian Oil, into a strong and sustainable new partnership. With this agreement, we are pursuing the growth of businesses with key Indian energy players, adding to our ongoing developments in renewables, gas and power,” said Total Chairman and CEO Patrick Pouyanné.
Commenting on the new initiative, Indian Oil Chairman Shrikant Madhav Vaidya said the Indian Oil-Total joint venture company would combine Indian Oil’s credentials as India’s Flagship National Oil Company and the Total’s strength as an International Energy Major.
Infrastructure development
“This would cater to B2B customers involved in road infrastructure development, both in the government and private sectors and I am confident that this would start a revolution in road construction activities in the country by providing superior technology products at competitive prices,” said Indian Oil Chairman Shrikant Madhav Vaidya.
Indian Oil Chairman Shrikant Madhav Vaidya he said the joint venture company would bring in latest technologies and formulations for Polymer Modified Bitumen (PMB) and other fast-growing non-conventional derivatives such as Cold Mix & Micro Emulsion, Block Bitumen, etc. to the Indian market.
“The operations of this JV would commence by taking over an existing plant of Total at Jodhpur and subsequently set up new Greenfield plants,” said Indian Oil Chairman Shrikant Madhav Vaidya.
The Government of India has a strong focus on developing the country’s road infrastructure with mega projects like the ‘Bharatmala project’ which envisages development of 34,800 km of roads at an estimated investment of over Rs 5 lakh crore in the first phase (equivalent to approximately $66 billion).
The demand for aggregate material and manufactured material for the highway construction and rehabilitation sector in India is very high, especially for good-quality bitumen derivatives. The Indian Oil and Total JV will offer high-spec products using sustainable technologies.
Low-carbon electricity
Total is a broad energy company that produces and markets fuels, natural gas and low-carbon electricity. The company’s 100,000 employees are committed to better energy that is more affordable, more reliable, cleaner and accessible to as many people as possible. Active in more than 130 countries, our ambition is to become the responsible energy major.
With over 900 employees, Total is present in India since 1993. Through its fully owned subsidiary, Total operates in the chemical business (Hutchinson) and is active in LPG for domestic and commercial applications, lubricants for automotive & industrial applications, modified bitumen products and special fluids (Total Oil India Private Limited). The Group has also a growing presence in energy storage (SAFT) and solar energy (Total Solar India Private Limited).
Total’s Technical Center in Mumbai provides value added technical support in the areas of product development, product training and field-testing in Asian market. The Group has also established a Digital Innovation Center located in Pune, in partnership with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to develop revolutionary solutions and technologies for its refining activities.
More recently, as part of its strategy to further develop offers for the Indian market, Total has partnered from 2018 with the Adani Group through various joint ventures in Fuels, Gas and Renewables.
Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. is Ranked 117th among the world’s largest corporates in Fortune’s ‘Global 500’ listing. Indian Oil’s business interests encompass the entire hydrocarbon value chain – from refining, pipeline transportation & marketing, to exploration & production of crude oil & gas, petrochemicals, gas marketing, alternative energy sources and globalization of downstream operations.
With over 80 MMTPA refining capacity and 14,670KM, cross-country pipelines network, Indian Oil accounts for nearly half of India’s petroleum products market share, with sales of about 89.696 MMT including export in the year 2019-20, through its network of over 55,000 customer touchpoints. Indian Oil harbors global aspirations, with subsidiaries in Sri Lanka, Mauritius, the UAE, Singapore, Sweden, USA and The Netherlands. Indian Oil has been actively pursuing diverse business interests, setting up over 20 joint ventures with reputed business partners from India and abroad to explore global opportunities.
