HPCL Visakh Refinery Fire: What Happened and What It Means for India's Fuel

What happened at the HPCL Visakh refinery on 2 November?

A fire broke out late on Monday 2 November at the Visakh refinery of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. Deccan Chronicle first reported it at 10:34 pm India Standard Time (IST), describing thick smoke over nearby neighbourhoods and several fire tenders at the site ^[1].

HPCL said the incident was reported at around 10 pm, according to the Press Trust of India (PTI) ^[2]. The company said the fire was confined to the pitch tank area and was brought under control within a short time ^[2]. It added that its fire and safety team activated emergency response measures promptly, and that all refinery units were operating safely ^[2].

Police gave a consistent account. Visakhapatnam Police Commissioner Shankhabrata Bagchi told PTI there were no casualties ^[2]. Speaking to NDTV, he said the fire was confined to the affected tank and posed no threat to other units, Daily Jagran reported ^[4]. Malkapuram police inspector Prakash Rao told reporters the fire is believed to have started at a sulphur pitch tank in the Residue Upgradation Facility (RUF) ^[3]. WION reported that internal teams brought the blaze under control within an hour and that power to the affected area was cut ^[3].

What is still not known?

These facts come from the first hours of the incident and may change. Several points were open as of about 1 am IST on 3 November.

• Cause. Officials have not given one. Police said the cause was still to be confirmed by HPCL ^[2]. An HPCL employee said it would be known only the next day ^[3].
• Explosion. Residents reported sounds like an explosion, but police have not confirmed one ^[3]. HPCL sources told The Times of India a tank explosion was unlikely, Indian Republic reported ^[6].
• Which tank. Reports describe it as a sulphur pitch tank or a tank holding RUF pitch oil, an intermediate product for bitumen. HPCL's statement refers only to the pitch tank area ^[2,6].
• Damage and output. An HPCL source told PSU Watch that property damage would be assessed the following day ^[5]. No figure for lost production has been published.

Authorities described the smoke as non-hazardous ^[4]. Police said no disruption to processing units had been reported on Monday night ^[6].

How big is the Visakh refinery and what does it supply?

Visakh is HPCL's larger refinery. The company lists its capacity at 15.0 million metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA), against 9.5 MMTPA in Mumbai ^[7]. A modernisation programme raised Visakh from 8.33 million to 15 million tonnes a year ^[6]. In January 2026, HPCL commissioned the 3.55 MMTPA RUF, which converts the heaviest part of the crude barrel into higher-value fuels ^[6]. HPCL also holds 74% of the 9 MMTPA Rajasthan refinery at Pachpadra ^[7].

The plant runs hard. It processed 16.04 million tonnes of crude in 2025–26, or 107% of capacity ^[6]. In July–September 2026 it processed 3.60 million metric tonnes, at 95% of capacity ^[5,9,18]. Across the first half of fiscal 2026–27, utilisation was 101% at Visakh and 108% at Mumbai ^[9].

Visakh makes liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), petrol, jet fuel, kerosene, diesel, bitumen, sulphur and very-low-sulphur fuel oil, among other products ^[7]. Its output leaves by coastal tanker and by pipeline ^[7]. The 572-kilometre Visakh–Vijayawada–Secunderabad line has a capacity of 7.70 MMTPA ^[8]. It carries petrol, diesel, kerosene and jet fuel to terminals at Rajahmundry, Vijayawada, Suriapet and Ghatkesar, in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana ^[8].

Nationally, Mr Puri put India's refining capacity at around 290 million tonnes a year on 27 October ^[10]. On that basis, Visakh is about 5% of the total, and HPCL's two wholly owned refineries about 8% (our calculation).

Could the fire affect India's petrol and diesel supply?

On the information published so far, the fire hit a storage tank, not a crude or conversion unit. HPCL says all units are operating safely ^[2]. The direct effect on fuel output therefore looks limited for now, although no official assessment has been released.

India's wider position offers some cushion. The country is a large net exporter of diesel. Kpler data put diesel exports at about 710,000 barrels per day (b/d) from 1 to 29 October, up 19.6% on September ^[11]. Reliance Industries accounted for about 550,000 b/d of that; HPCL's share was an estimated 26,000 b/d ^[11]. In September, about 280,000 b/d of India's diesel went to Europe, Kpler data showed ^[19].

Domestic demand is rising. Preliminary data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) show diesel sales of 7.12 million tonnes in September, up 4.86% on a year earlier, and petrol sales of 3.64 million tonnes, up 7.21% ^[12]. HPCL sold 7.78 million tonnes of petrol and diesel in July–September, 10% more than a year before ^[9].

Stocks were last described officially in March. The petroleum ministry then said India had about 60 days of cover, counting crude, products and strategic storage, and every refinery was running above 100% utilisation ^[17]. We found no updated official figure for November.

What could it mean for Asian diesel margins?

Regional diesel margins are already high because of the Gulf supply crisis. Asian diesel margins hit a record of slightly more than $87 a barrel in mid-September, against about $22 before the war, according to LSEG data ^[13]. Singapore diesel cracks against Dubai crude were above $60 a barrel in September, Kpler data showed ^[11].

The margin has eased since. It rose to about $70 a barrel on 21 October and had mostly ranged between $60 and $70 that month ^[14]. A tank fire with processing units running would be a small event for this market. A longer outage of Visakh's process units would remove product from a tight region, but no official has indicated one.

Has HPCL had other refinery outages in 2026?

Yes. On 20 April 2026, a fire broke out near the crude distillation unit (CDU) at HPCL Rajasthan Refinery Limited in Pachpadra ^[5,15]. The company said there were no casualties. Early findings pointed to a suspected hydrocarbon leak in a heat-exchanger circuit, pending investigation ^[15]. The Prime Minister's scheduled dedication of the refinery was postponed ^[5].

HPCL later restarted the CDU, FilingReader reported on 18 June ^[16]. The refinery was dedicated to the nation on 4 July 2026 ^[7]. Visakh itself had a fire in crude distillation unit III on 25 May 2021, which caused no injuries according to the government ^[5].

What to watch

• HPCL's next statement. The company has not given a cause, a damage estimate or any production effect. A stock-exchange filing would be the clearest update ^[2,5].
• Investigation findings. An HPCL employee said the cause would be known on 3 November ^[3]. Watch for any inquiry announced by HPCL or the authorities.
• Unit operations. Whether the RUF, or the units feeding it, run normally in the coming days ^[6].
• Regional supply. Any change in dispatches through the Visakh–Vijayawada–Secunderabad pipeline or by coastal tanker ^[8].
• Export flows and margins. India's November diesel exports and Asian diesel margins, now near $70 a barrel ^[11,14].

Alupetra follows refinery outages, product flows and margins as part of its daily market coverage; this note reflects reports available at the time of writing.