Indian Oil Corporation (IOC)  will invest Rs 2 lakh crore to achieve net-zero operational carbon emissions by 2046, its chairman Shrikant Madhav Vaidhya said on Thursday. The target set is in consonant  with India's aim to reach net-zero emissions by 2070.

The conglomerate, which refines crude oil into fuel and manufactures petrochemicals, will use a combination of energy efficiency measures, electrification of processes and fuel replacement.

"The company is embarking on a decarbonisation journey that will be crucial not only for the company's destiny but also for the planet," Vaidya said. "On the 99th year of India's independence (2046), IndianOil will be operationally independent of emissions." The investment of over Rs 2 lakh crore will help mitigate emissions to about 0.7 billion metric tonnes of carbon dioxide a year by then. Currently, IOC's greenhouse gas (GHG) emission, emanating majorly from the company's refining operations, is 21.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (MMTCO2e) per year.

This will rise to 40.44 MMTCO2e by 2030 after considering the expansions planned and taking the emissions of its subsidiaries into account. "We have a well-crafted blueprint in place (for net zero). It adopts a multipronged approach to take us gradually towards the net zero destination.

We have envisaged that an investment of over Rs. 2 lakh crore will be required to achieve the target by the year 2046," he said. The company plans to use natural gas in refineries in place of liquid fuels as well as replace grey hydrogen with green one that is manufactured from renewable power.

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