RIL to invest Rs 16 bln in petrochemical expansion; lower feed and fuel costs to boost profits

13-Oct-14

Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) will invest about $16 billion to expand petrochemical production capacity and lower feed and fuel costs to boost profits. According to a report by Barclays Equity Research, RIL is investing US$4.6 bln in an integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) project that will convert captive petrocoke to synthetic gas (syngas) which can be used to generate power, steam and hydrogen, which currently are being produced using expensive imported LNG. Refinery off-gas from this unit will be used to extract petrochemical compounds like ethane, ethylene, propylene, butanes and propanes at a US$4.5 bln Refinery off-gas cracker (ROGC). Another US$5 bln is being spent on expanding polyester production capacity. US$1.5 bln will go towards importing ethane from US to replace higher cost propane imports and naphtha. The projects will be completed by FY-18.