<div>Reliance Industries has sought environment ministry approval for a $13 billion upgrade to its Jamnagar complex, including a 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) refinery, documents seen by Reuters show.<br /><br />The refinery would process cheap, heavy grades of crude that are increasingly available in Asia as the US shale boom has cut demand there.<br /><br />Reliance, controlled by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, operates the world's biggest refining complex in Gujarat, where its two adjacent plants can process about 1.4 million bpd of oil.<br /><br />The company last year sought the approval of the environment ministry to invest Rs 773 billion ($12.8 billion) to build a new refinery and some polymer units, and to switch the fuel for a 450 megawatt power plant from gas to coal, according to a copy of the proposal obtained by Reuters.<br /><br />The environment ministry wrote back in May this year asking Reliance to meet certain conditions in order to secure a green light for the projects, the documents show.<br /><br />It was not immediately clear if there had been further communications between Reliance and the environment ministry. The documents did not reference a potential start up date.<br /><br />Reliance did not respond to an email seeking comment. <br /><br />(Reuters)</div>
