Reliance Industries on Thursday announced an investment of Rs. 1.5 lakh crore in core business of petrochemicals and oil and gas as well as in retail and telecom sectors in the next 3 years.
Addressing company shareholders, Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani said, “Reliance has embarked upon its largest investment programme in its history.”
The investments span oil and gas exploration and production, refining and marketing, petrochemicals, retail and broadband and digital services, he said.
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RIL is aiming to be “among top 5 petrochemical producers in the world,” he said adding the petrochem capacity is being expanded to 25 million tonnes from 15 million tonnes per year.
Mr. Ambani had in the last Annual General Meeting (AGM) announced an investment of Rs. 1,00,000 crore over 4-5 years, which has now been expanded to Rs. 1.5 lakh crore and time compressed to 3 years.
While RIL’ partnership with U.K.’s BP has started delivering results with a significant gas discovery being made 2-km below the currently producing fields in KG-D6 block, the company is now looking at quickly bringing into production satellite fields in the flagging block and nearby areas.
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Also, it is looking at beginning production from its Sohagpur coal-bed methane (CBM) blocks in Madhya Pradesh by 2015, he said.
While Mr. Ambani did not give a roadmap for launch of telecom services, he said the telecom business unit will increase headcount to 10,000 next year from 3,000 currently.
The unit, Reliance Jio Infocomm, is the only company to have nationwide permits for 4G broadband services, but is yet to start commercial services.
“We are making these investments at a time when the global economy is facing one of its most challenging period in modern times. Most of economies are faced with slowdown, high unemployment and lack of visible growth triggers,” he said.
“Reliance is making significant investment in all five businesses simultaneously — exploration and production, petroleum refining and marketing, petrochemcial, retail and broadband and digital services,” Mr. Ambani said.
Mr. Ambani said 4G telecom services would be pillared on “affordability and providing an unparallel range of services that do not exist today.”
“In the coming years Reliance Jio’s next generation digital infra and services platform will catalyse a transformation and will embrace almost every facet of India’s economic growth and social progress,” he said.
He said revenues for RIL’s investments in U.S. shale gas ventures has doubled.
RIL’s retail business has crossed Rs. 10,000 crore revenue and has achieved break-even.