Reliance Industries inks JV agreement with SIBUR for South Asia’s first butyl rubber halogenation unit

23-Jan-17

Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) has inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for a joint venture with Russian petrochemical giant SIBUR to set up South Asia’s first butyl rubber halogenation unit at RIL’s integrated petrochemical site in Jamnagar, Gujarat. Production capacity was confirmed at 60,000 mtpa of halogenated butyl rubber at Reliance Sibur Elastomers Pvt Ltd (RSEPL), a joint venture in which RIL owns 74.9% and SIBUR owns 25.1%.

The MoU was signed at the recently concluded Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit in Gandhinagar. Apart from the planned halogenation unit, the JV owns a 1,20,000-mtpa butyl rubber plant, currently under construction at the same venue. It will provide the necessary butyl rubber feed to the halogenation unit. Construction of the plant is on in full swing at Jamnagar, and commissioning is targeted for 2018.