Indian Oil ramps up op rates at PE, PP units after restart

16 November 2010 07:08  [Source: ICIS news]

SINGAPORE (ICIS)--State-owned Indian Oil Corp (IOC) is ramping up operating rates at its polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) plants in Panipat after restarting them at the end of last week, sources close to the company said on Tuesday.

The company’s 857,000 tonne/year naphtha cracker at the same site, which provides ethylene and propylene feedstock to the PE and PP plants, was restarted a few days earlier, one of the sources said.

“The restart dates had to be deferred by two weeks due to a technical glitch, which has now been sorted out,” a second source said.

The company had planned to restart the cracker and derivative units first by 28 October and then by 30 October after a maintenance shutdown, but the deadlines could not be met.

The cracker, together with its derivative units, was taken off line on 1 October.

Downstream operations at IOC's Panipat facility include a 600,000 tonne/year PP plant and a 650,000 tonne/year PE facility.

The restart of the PE and PP plants has slightly eased the tight polyolefins supply situation in India, traders said.

Other major PE and PP producers in India include Reliance Industries and Haldia Petrochemicals.

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By: Prema Viswanathan
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