On 17 March 2023, the company allotted 93,561 unsecured, listed, rated, non-cumulative, redeemable, non-convertible, taxable, debentures of face value of Rs 1 lakh each at par aggregating to a total issue size of Rs 935,61,00,000 on a private placement basis. The tenure of the instrument is 3 years from the date of allotment (maturity date being 17 March 2026). The interest rate on the NCD is fixed at 7.58% per annum. The first interest payment will be on 17 March 2024, followed by other interest payment will be done on the same day in 2025. The final payment will be made on 17 March 2026 along with the final redemption amount. The principal payment will also be done on 17 March 2026.

CRISIL Ratings and CARE Ratings have assigned a rating of “CRISIL AAA/Stable” and “CARE AAA/Stable” respectively, said the company.

Meanwhile, BPCL appointed Krishnakumar Gopalan as the chairman & managing director (C&MD) of the company with effect from 17 March 2023.

The appointment is until Gopalan's superannuation or until further orders, whichever is earlier, said the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.

Gopalan is an electrical engineer from National Institute of Technology (NIT), Tiruchirapalli and has done his Masters in Financial Management from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management, Mumbai. During the 36 years of his professional career in BPCL, he has held key positions across the Marketing and Human Resources functions with diverse leadership experience across business and functional domains.

He was at the core of BPCL's pioneering work in revolutionising the downstream fuel retailing industry in the country, leading the organisation's customer-centric forays in convenience retailing, premium fuels, in a way heralding the digital age of BPCL. He has developed and nurtured winning brands like Petro Card, SmartFleet Speed, In & Out, which have been significant contributors to BPCL's differentiated customer value proposition in the marketplace.

Prior to his elevation to the board, as the head of BPCL's Lubricants business, he spearheaded brand MAK's aggressive growth in the domestic and international markets, and in the expansion of the product portfolio to cover new and emerging industrial, agricultural, passenger and commercial vehicle segments.

As executive director, Gopalan was focused on major initiatives in the areas of learning & development and talent management.

BPCL is the second largest Indian oil marketing company, engaged in refining of crude oil and marketing of petroleum products, with a significant presence in the upstream and downstream sectors of the oil and gas industry. The company attained the coveted 'Maharatna' status, joining the elite club of companies having greater operational & financial autonomy. The Government of India holds 52.98% stake in BPCL as of 31 December 2022.

The company reported 31% fall in standalone net profit to Rs 1,959.58 crore in Q3 FY23 from Rs 2,828.45 crore in Q3 FY23. Net revenue from operations was Rs 1,19,158.10 crore, up 25% YoY.