Re Sustainability and Indian Oil join hands
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. The partnership marks a significant milestone in building a circular ecosystem for lubricant oil management and advancing India’s transition 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. 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.
Mr. 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.”
Speaking on the collaboration, Mr. Masood Mallick, Managing Director & Group CEO, Re Sustainability Limited, said: “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 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.
