After completing construction of its 15 mln ton crude oil refinery at Paradip, Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) plans to invest in a petrochemical complex in the vicinity. IOCL plans to invest Rs 34,000 crore on the petrochemical complex, roughly the same amount it spent on the refinery. Though the oil refinery and petrochemical complex were conceptualised simultaneously, the petrochemical complex was kept in abeyance due to recession.
The entire petrochemical complex is slated to be commissioned by 2021. The first unit of this complex -- the polypropylene unit is scheduled to be completed by December next year. The polypropylene unit would have a capacity of 7,000 kilo tpa, would be integrated with the oil refinery, and will make use of Spheripol Technology from Basell, Italy. The unit will be capable of producing different grades of polypropylene but will commence with production of only homo grade initially. The major facilities envisaged under the project are coker liquefied natural gas (LPG) treater unit, warehouse for polypropylene storage and other associated facilities like flare and cooling tower. Two more projects have been planned for the petrochemical complex --a 1200 ktpa purified terephthalic acid (PTA) plant and petcoke gasification-based synthetic ethanol plant. Both projects would, together, cost IOCL Rs 28,000 crore and are due to be commissioned by September 2021.
With the availability of mono ethylene glycol (MEG) and PTA from these units, downstream industries like polyester chips, fibers, PET (polyethylene terephthalate) grade chips, PET film grade chips and polyester industrial yarn can be developed.
28-Jan-16 
{{comment.DateTimeStampDisplay}}
{{comment.Comments}}