OPaL procuring feedstock, aims to start new polypropylene plant by month end

12-May-16

India's ONGC Petro additions Limited aims to start up its 340,000 m tpa polypropylene (PP) plant in Dahej Special Economic Zone, Gujarat by end-May. The company is currently procuring feedstock propylene from the spot market, as per company sources in Platts. "We will definitely start pre-marketing material but commercial on spec material may take a month to produce from the plant start up," the source said. OPaL plans to start the PP plant in isolation, and then hopes to bring on stream its new steam cracker and new polyethylene units by mid-July, according to the source. The company is building two 360,000 mt/year high density polyethylene/linear low density polyethylene swing units and a 340,000 mt/year standalone HDPE unit. Commercial production is expected to start two or three months from the start up, given that it is a new plant and needs time for production to stabilize, the source added. The dual-feed cracker has the capacity to produce 1.1 mln mt/year of ethylene and 400,000 mt/year of propylene. Associated units include a 150,000 mt/year benzene extraction unit and a 115,000 mt/year butadiene unit.