India’s HMEL to start up 440,000 tonne/year PP unit by early April

06 February 2012 03:42  [Source: ICIS news]

NEW DELHI (ICIS)--India's HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd (HMEL) is expected to start up its 440,000 tonne/year polypropylene (PP) facility at Bathinda in Punjab, north India, at the end of March or in early April, a source close to the company said over the weekend.

New PP materials will be available in the market in April, the source said at the sidelines of the 8th PlastIndia exhibition and conference held in New Delhi from 1-6 February.

The company’s upstream 9m tonne/year refinery at the same site is expected to be commissioned by March. Construction of the refinery and the PP unit has started, the source said.

Company officials could not be reached for comment.

The PP unit, which will use Novolen gas-phase technology, will produce homopolymer grades including the biaxially oriented PP (BOPP) film, cast film, extrusion, fibre and filaments, injection moulding, raffia, thermoforming and tubular quench (TQ) grades, the source said.

HMEL aims to achieve stable production of all grades by June, the source said.

Other grades like copolymer PP grades may be feasible in the future as HMEL is considering extracting ethylene raw materials from the refinery gases, the source added.

The company plans to market its PP products locally, while export opportunities such as Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal are possible, according to the source.  

“Pakistan will be the main export market since [HMEL’s] PP unit is located off the coast and near to the Pakistan-India border,” he said.  

HMEL is a joint venture between Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) and Mittal Energy. Each company holds a 49% stake in HMEL, while the remaining 2% interest is held by financial institutions.

By: Ong Sheau Ling
+65 6780 4359

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