Even a year after Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Assam Bioethanol Plant, the bamboo-based facility has not yet been able to commence commercial production. Stabilisation work is currently underway at the plant, said Ranjit Rath, Chairman of Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) and CMD of Oil India Limited.
Speaking to reporters after NRL’s 33rd Annual General Meeting in Guwahati on Friday, Rath said that following commissioning of the plant, a stabilisation process needs to be completed before commercial production can begin. The process is currently underway.
“After commissioning the plant, a stabilisation process is required before commercial production. We are currently going through that process,” Rath said.
Rath said the project has brought several new experiences and technical learnings during its implementation. Ethanol has already been produced at the plant, which indicates that commissioning has been completed, but commercial production is yet to begin.
He claimed that the project is the first of its kind in the world and that its technology is also being implemented commercially for the first time.
Meanwhile, highlighting NRL’s financial performance, Rath said the company’s standalone net worth stood at Rs 18,912 crore for the financial year ended March 31, 2026, registering a 17.69 per cent increase over the previous fiscal.
NRL’s operating revenue rose to Rs 26,393 crore in 2025-26, compared with Rs 25,147 crore in 2024-25.
According to an NRL statement, the company recorded a profit before tax of Rs 4,077 crore and a profit after tax of Rs 3,057 crore in 2025-26. The profit after tax increased by more than 90 per cent compared with the previous financial year.
During the fiscal, Numaligarh Refinery processed 3,113 TMT of crude oil, achieving 103 per cent of its rated capacity. Total sales stood at 3,200 TMT.
Motor spirit production reached 727 TMT, surpassing the company’s previous all-time record of 725 TMT. NRL also registered a new record in sulphur recovery, with recovery touching 6.3 TMT in 2025-26 against the previous high of 5.6 TMT.
On December 3, 2025, NRL was upgraded from Mini Ratna Category-I to the prestigious Navratna status.
At the AGM, NRL Managing Director Bhaskar Jyoti Phukan said the company’s projects and pipeline supplies involving Myanmar and Bangladesh were functioning normally. He said the instability in the two neighbouring countries had not affected NRL’s operations.
