IOC to export spare PX, plans PTA plant turnaround

28 November 2007 13:20  [Source: ICIS news]

MUMBAI (ICIS news)--Indian Oil Corp (IOC) has issued an export tender for 6,000 tonnes of paraxylene (PX) as its purified terephthalic acid (PTA) plant is not running at full capacity, a company official said on Wednesday.

"The tender will close on 12 December," he told ICIS news, adding that IOC expected the first shipment in the last week of December and that an additional 19,000 tonnes of PX would become available for exports in the next two months.

The producer is looking to export PX as its 550,000 tonne/year Panipat TA plant in Haryana state has been operating at 80% of nameplate capacity for the last eight months, he added.

The PTA unit is integrated with a 362,000 tonne/year feedstock PX line at the same site.

"The PTA plant has been facing some technical issues since it was commissioned last year," the official said.

The company is also planning a shutdown of its PTA plant for three weeks starting 25 December, he added.

"The company hopes to resolve the technical issues at the plant during this shutdown," he said.

However, there will be no corresponding shutdown in the PX plant, which is expected to run at full capacity, and therefore the company is looking to export a spot PX cargo, he added.

By: Divya Chowdhury
+65 6780 4359

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