MRPL in talks to hive off stake in aromatic unit

15-Dec-06

Talks are at a preliminary stage between Mangalore Refineries Petrochemicals Ltd. (MRPL) and Japanese and South Korean firms to buy stakes in a proposed new aromatic unit. This new Rs 48.52 billion (US$1.08 billion) aromatic complex is to be built by a new venture -- Mangalore Petrochemicals Ltd..,to meet demand for paraxylene, particularly from in Japan and China. MRPL and Oil and Natural Gas Corp. Ltd. will jointly own a 49% stake in the unit. 51% may be offered to Japanese and Korean companies. The unit will produce about 900,000 tpa of paraxylene, and will be implemented in the Mangalore SEZ-based Mangalore Petrochemicals Ltd, promoted by ONGC and MRPL. The unit will primarily manufacture paraxylene, used as feedstock in making purified terephthalic acid (PTA), and benzene, and is scheduled to go on stream in 2010.