Recycling of used oil support sustainable energy ecosystem, says Patra
Re Sustainability has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Indian Oil Corporation Limited to launch India’s first structured national initiative for the collection and recycling of used lubricating oil as the partnership works towards a resource-efficient and low-carbon economy.
“This pioneering collaboration demonstrates how industry partnerships can accelerate circular resource flows, strengthen environmental governance, and build resilient energy and materials infrastructure for the future,” Re Sustainability said on 13 Mar.
“By enabling systematic recovery and re-refining of used lubricants, the initiative will help reduce reliance on virgin crude-derived base oils while conserving natural resources and lowering foreign exchange outflows.”
The collaboration will focus on establishing a dedicated Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to create a nationwide reverse logistics and collection ecosystem for used lubricating oil. The platform will aggregate used lubricants from industrial and automotive sectors and develop advanced Re-Refined Base Oil (RRBO) refining infrastructure to produce Group I and Group II+ base oils from recovered lubricants in partnership with Re Sustainability and its technology partners.
Bankim Patra, Country Head (Lubes), Indian Oil Corporation Limited, said, “As India’s largest integrated energy company, Indian Oil is committed to advancing solutions that strengthen both energy security and environmental responsibility. This collaboration reflects our commitment to building sustainable value chains that enable responsible recovery, reuse, and circular utilisation of lubricants. By formalising the collection and recycling of used oil, we are supporting a more resource-efficient and sustainable energy ecosystem for India.”
Under the collaboration, recovered oil will be processed to produce Re-Refined Base Oil (RRBO) which can be reintroduced into lubricant manufacturing value chains. This circular approach significantly reduces dependence on virgin crude-derived base oils while strengthening material efficiency across the lubricants sector.
Speaking on the collaboration, Masood Mallick, Managing Director & Group CEO, Re Sustainability Limited, elaborated, “India’s journey towards a circular economy requires large-scale systems that can recover value from complex waste streams and reintegrate them into productive use. Our partnership with Indian Oil marks a transformative step towards institutionalising structured oil recycling in India. By building an integrated ecosystem for used lubricant recovery and re-refining, we are enabling the transition from waste management to resource recovery while strengthening India’s environmental infrastructure and circular economy.”
The MoU is signed, with a targeted annual collection of 100 KTA (kilotonnes per annum) of used lubricating oil supported by a structured nationwide network of aggregation, logistics, and traceability systems.
As part of the initiative, the partners will establish a state-of-the-art re-refining facility at mutually agreed locations. The project will include both the development of new infrastructure and the upgrade of existing facilities designed to process used lubricating oil and convert it into Group I and Group II+ Re-Refined Base Oil (RRBO) meeting Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and international specifications.
The facility is expected to have a processing capacity of 50–100 KTA and is targeted to be commissioned within the next three years, forming the foundation for a scalable oil recovery and circular recycling ecosystem under the partnership.
The initiative will also include recovery and recycling of plastic lubricant containers, aligned with Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) requirements under India’s environmental regulations, thereby strengthening compliance and enabling responsible lifecycle management of lubricant packaging.
India currently generates approximately 1.3 million tonnes of used lubricating oil annually, of which only around 0.2 million tonnes is recovered through formal recycling channels. This initiative aims to significantly expand formal recovery infrastructure, unlock the resource value of used lubricants, and accelerate India’s transition toward a circular, resource-efficient, and sustainable lubricant economy.
Re Sustainability Limited (ReSL), a KKR-backed company, is one of Asia’s largest and most diversified providers of integrated environmental and sustainability solutions. The company operates across 100+ sites in India, Singapore, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Tanzania, and the USA. With a 22,000+ strong workforce and over three decades of leadership in waste management, resource recovery, and sustainability infrastructure, ReSL is driving the transition toward a low-carbon, circular economy.
Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IndianOil) is India’s largest integrated energy company and a Maharatna public sector enterprise under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India. Headquartered in New Delhi, the company operates across the entire hydrocarbon value chain including refining, pipeline transportation, marketing of petroleum products, petrochemicals, natural gas, and exploration and production. Fiinews.com
