Reliance Is Building the World’s First Autonomous Refinery at Jamnagar

At the company’s 49th Annual General Meeting (AGM), Executive Director Anant Ambani officially announced that Reliance Industries is turning its Jamnagar refinery into the world’s first fully end-to-end autonomous refinery.

The massive transformation relies on embedding a core network of proprietary AI, machine learning pipelines, and digital coordination layers into the world’s largest single-location refining complex. It is one of several deep-tech bets the group is making as it chases its ₹4 lakh crore EBITDA target by 2031.

What Makes the Jamnagar Refinery Autonomous

Rather than relying on legacy, manually monitored industrial controls, the blueprint leverages a unified, data-driven automation architecture:

• Proprietary AI Feedstock Optimisation: Jamnagar has deployed an in-house artificial intelligence engine designed to automatically analyze, predict, and select the most efficient crude oil blends. This allows the refinery to adjust operations in real time to process heavily varied crude grades based on current market availability and pricing dynamics.
• Autonomous Logistics Routing: Reliance has integrated an internal digital logistics platform that autonomously manages and streamlines vessel chartering, supply chain routes, and raw material positioning, mitigating human error and shipping bottlenecks.
• Smart Contract Execution: On the commercial side, the refinery is shifting to automated smart contracts. These tools independently verify transaction metrics, radically improving the speed, data accuracy, and execution of high-volume customer transactions.

Strategic Resilience Amid Volatility

The push for complete automation coincides with a highly volatile financial cycle. The Oil-to-Chemicals (O2C) business reported revenues of ₹6,62,401 crore ($71.3 billion) for the fiscal year, with EBITDA jumping 10.1% to ₹60,546 crore — part of a record year that also saw the group post its highest-ever FY26 capex of ₹1.44 lakh crore.

According to leadership, the digital infrastructure proved its worth during severe geopolitical headwinds, particularly during a major maritime transit disruption in the Strait of Hormuz. The AI-driven logistics and diversified feedstock planning allowed the Jamnagar complex to safely maintain near-full production throughput and rapidly scale domestic LPG supplies fourfold when competing global supply chains faltered.

By upgrading its legacy industrial assets into a self-correcting, machine-intelligent ecosystem, Reliance is attempting to remove human operational latency entirely—cementing Jamnagar’s position as both a downstream volume leader and an advanced deep-tech manufacturing hub.

About the Jamnagar Refinery

Commissioned in 1999 and massively expanded in 2008, the Jamnagar refinery in Gujarat is the largest single-site refining complex on the planet. It combines two integrated refineries with a total Jamnagar refinery capacity of roughly 1.4 million barrels per day (about 68 million tonnes per annum), serving both domestic fuel demand and exports to Europe, the Americas and Asia.

That scale is exactly why automation matters: even a fractional efficiency gain on 1.4 million barrels a day compounds into billions of rupees in margin. Pairing the refinery’s output with Reliance’s broader clean-energy push — including the world’s largest solar park in Gujarat — gives the group an unusually integrated energy footprint, from crude oil to renewables.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the world’s first autonomous refinery?

It refers to Reliance’s Jamnagar complex, which the company is converting into a fully end-to-end autonomous refinery using proprietary AI for feedstock selection, autonomous logistics routing, and smart-contract-based trade execution.

Where is the Jamnagar refinery located?

The refinery is located in Jamnagar, Gujarat, India, and is the world’s largest single-location refining complex, with a capacity of around 1.4 million barrels per day.

How much revenue does Reliance’s O2C business generate?

Reliance’s Oil-to-Chemicals (O2C) segment, which houses Jamnagar, reported revenue of ₹6,62,401 crore ($71.3 billion) for the fiscal year, with EBITDA rising 10.1% to ₹60,546 crore.

Who owns the Jamnagar refinery?

The Jamnagar refinery is owned and operated by Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), the conglomerate led by Mukesh Ambani. The autonomous-refinery transformation was announced by Executive Director Anant Ambani at the company’s 49th AGM.

Is the Jamnagar refinery the biggest in the world?

Yes. Jamnagar is the largest single-location refining complex in the world. Commissioned in 1999 and expanded in 2008, it combines two integrated refineries into a single site that processes roughly 1.4 million barrels of crude per day.

What is the capacity of the Jamnagar refinery?

The Jamnagar refinery has a total crude processing capacity of about 1.4 million barrels per day, or roughly 68 million tonnes per annum (MMTPA). That scale is why even small AI-driven efficiency gains translate into billions of rupees in additional margin.