Reliance Petroleum and Dow pact get approval

13-Mar-06

The department of chemicals and petrochemicals has approved Reliance Petroleum Ltd's application for a foreign technology collaboration agreement with Dow Global Technologies for setting up a polypropylene plant at the Jamnagar special economic zone. The agreement, valid for 10 years, is to cost the company US$26.55 million, which Dow Global Technologies will be paid in 4 instalments: 25% of the total payment after signing the licence agreement 25% upon delivery of the process design package The subsequent payments of 25% each will be made after the completion of the operations, training and commissioning of the plant. The technology major will receive a payment of US$14 million for the catalyst technology and US$5.2 million for the solvent recovery plant. The technology offered by Dow Global Technologies is UNIPOL-PP using UNIPOL fluidised gas process. Dow Global Technologies hold the proprietary rights for the catalyst technology and is a subsidiary of Dow Chemical Company. The plant, to be located at Meghpar village in Gujarat is to have a capacity of 900,000 tpa. An option of installing a catalyst plant along with solvent recovery unit with an initial capacity of 100 tpa also exists, along with a provision to expand capacity up to 300 tpa by adding two more plants, each having a capacity of 100 tpa.