RIL Jamnagar cracker, aromatics projects on track

03 March 2008 17:49  [Source: ICIS news]

MUMBAI (ICIS news)--Reliance Industries Limited’s $9bn (€5.9bn) cracker, aromatics complex and petroleum coke gasification unit at Jamnagar in Gujarat is on track for commissioning in 2011-2012, a senior RIL executive said late on Saturday.

Reliance's new petrochemical complex at Jamnagar will be the largest in the world, with a capacity of 2m tonnes/year of olefins and matching downstream capacities, incorporating the integrated combined cycle coke gasification complex (IGCC) with capacity of 6m tonnes/year.

Ethylene capacity will double to 3.2m tonnes/year, said RIL executive director Nikhil Meswani, adding Reliance would be looking at the whole downstream chain from this project, he added.

Two refineries give us ample feed to look at various downstream opportunities, RIL executive director Nikhil Meswani told ICIS news.

"We will expand into every polymer that has a future. If it has an end-use and we have the feedstock for it, then we will expand," Meswani said.

"However, we will examine all opportunities only once the petcoke facility is up and running," he said.

RIL is expanding its Jamnagar paraxylene capacity to 4.5m tonnesyear from 1.9 million tonnesyear, giving the company 15% of global PX capacity, ICIS news had reported earlier.

The company will also be looking at polyester very differently, he said, without disclosing any other details.

Local polyester demand is growing two-times GDP, which is more than enough to soften the impact of an appreciating Indian rupee versus the US dollar," Meswani said.

The rupee has appreciated around 9.8% since April 2007, and is currently trading at just over Rs40 to the

RIL’s Jamnagar refinery-cum-polypropylene complex was also progressing at ‘blistering pace’, with a likely early commissioning, ICIS news earlier reported

($1 = €0.66

By: Divya Chowdhury
+65 6780 4359

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