APIC '10: Indian Oil targets south Asia for PP exports

14 May 2010 03:29  [Source: ICIS news]

MUMBAI (ICIS news)--State-run Indian Oil Corp (IOC) is targeting the export of  polypropylene (PP) from its newly started plant at Panipat in Haryana state to key south Asian markets including Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, a senior company official said on Friday.

"Pakistan offers us a logistical advantage [over other Indian producers] as we can transport cargoes by road, which will be more cost-competitive,” said IOC's Siddharth Mitra, general manager of petrochemicals, on the sidelines of the Asia Petrochemical Industry Conference (APIC) 2010 in Mumbai.

Mitra said that the firm already has a distribution network in Sri Lanka for its crude products, which it can use for selling polymers.

"In addition, we are looking at selling into emerging markets in Asia such as Vietnam,” he said.

The official added that Europe was not on the export agenda at the moment, “although we have been receiving enquiries from there”.

The company’s 600,000 tonne/year PP plant, which achieved on-spec production in early May, is currently producing only injection moulding grade, but would start producing raffia grade shortly, Mitra said. Higher-end grades including random and impact copolymer PP were also being targeted for production in a few months, he said.

"But for exports, it is raffia and injection moulding grades which are most popular,” Mitra said. The other grades would be targeted mainly at the Indian market, he said.

IOC’s petrochemical complex at Panipat includes a 857,000 tonne/year cracker that was commissioned in March and a 650,000 tonne/year PE plant, which is in the process of starting up.

Other major Indian PE and PP producers include Reliance Industries, Haldia Petrochemicals and Gail India.  

The two-day APIC conference ends on 14 May.

Malini Hariharan contributed to this story

Please visit the complete ICIS plants and projects database
To discuss issues facing the chemical industry go to ICIS connect

By: Prema Viswanathan
+65 6780 4359

For the latest chemical news, data and analysis that directly impacts your business sign up for a free trial to ICIS news - the breaking online news service for the global chemical industry.

Get the facts and analysis behind the headlines from our market leading weekly magazine: sign up to a free trial to ICIS Chemical Business.

Printer Friendly