H. Shankar, Managing Director, CPCL, in conversation with N. Ravi Kumar, Senior Deputy Editor, The Hindu, at The Hindu Sustainability Summit 2025
| Photo Credit: R. Ragu
In the last two years, our water footprint — a strong indicator of the efficiencies we have built into our systems — has reduced by more than 20%, H. Shankar, Managing Director of Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd (CPCL), said. “From the very beginning, we have been the only refinery that has not used any groundwater for our requirements,” he said during a fireside chat with N. Ravi Kumar, Senior Deputy Editor, The Hindu, at The Hindu Sustainability Summit 2025.
“Our entire water requirement is fulfilled through the desalination and sewage reclamation plants we have set up,” he said and added: “We are a zero fresh water consuming refinery.”
Highlighting the firm’s retail business, Mr. Shankar said: “Retail outlet is an interesting and challenging business; as of now, we have not been at the forefront of public interface. Retail brings us directly to the public.” CPCL has got 300 licences now, he said, adding: “We will start comissioning these facilities by end of this year.”
Giving an update on the Nagapattinam refinery, Mr. Shankar said that the entire land parcel has been acquired. “We intend to build a refinery-cum-petro chemical complex there. There is a huge demand for petrochemicals in Tamil Nadu. There are very few players producing petrochemicals,” he said.
He pointed out that CPCL was one of the early birds to implement BS-IV (Bharat Stage 4) and BS-VI (Bharat Stage 6) grade fuels. “Our refinery rolled out these products way ahead of time.” Mr. Shankar said that the firm has spent ₹8,000 crore to ₹10,000 crore on quality improvement.
The Hindu Sustainability Summit 2025 is presented by Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited (CPCL) and co-presented by Tamil Nadu Green Climate Company (TNGCC). The Sustainability Partner is Navin’s and the Associate Partner is NLC India Limited. The Green Partner for the event is Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and Television Partner Puthiya Thalaimurai. While the Industry Partner is Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), the Knowledge Partner is Sustainable Energy and Environment Council (SEEC). The Digital News Partner for the event is The Federal.
Published – November 07, 2025 04:54 pm IST
