Indian Oil eyes 2021 start-up for Paradip MEG unit – executive

MUMBAI (ICIS)–State-owned Indian Oil Corp (IOC) expects to bring on line its planned monoethylene glycol (MEG) plant in eastern Odisha state in 2021, a senior company official said on Tuesday.

The plant will be located at IOC’s petrochemical complex linked to its 15m tonne/year Paradip refinery.

“We have received all the necessary approvals for the 350,000 tonnes/year MEG plant and expect to commission it by April 2021,” IOC executive director for petrochemicals Avinash Verma said.

Environmental clearance for the plant is expected to be granted soon, according to a separate source from the Indian government.

IOC also plans to build a 1.2m tonne/year purified terephthalic acid (PTA) plant at the site.

Verma said that the company is at an advanced stage of contracting licensors for the 1.2m tonne/year PTA plant, adding “we expect to commission the plant by end 2021 or early 2022”.

The company plans to invest a total of Indian rupee (Rs) 145bn ($2bn) for these projects, IOC chairman Sanjiv Singh was quoted by Indian media as saying at a textiles and plastics investors’ conclave on 2 September.

IOC also plans to invest Rs20bn in a 108,000 tonne/year polyester staple fibre (PSF) plant.

“We are at a very advanced stage of discussion on this project and will take a decision on this soon,” Verma said.

The company’s 700,000 tonne/year polypropylene (PP) plant at the complex is expected to start up by December this year, he said.

The expansion of the product portfolio of the petrochemical complex was in line with plans to ramp up the capacity of its 15m tonnes/year Paradip refinery, Verma added.

The company expects to increase its refinery capacity to 18m tonnes/year over the next three years, he said.

IOC also plans to expand capacities at its Panipat refinery in Haryana state; Koyali refinery in Gujarat state; Barauni refinery in Bihar state; and Mathura refinery in Uttar Pradesh state.

Interview article by Priya Jestin

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Picture: Indian Oil, refinery, Bijapur, Karnataka, South India (Photographer: Olaf Kruger/imageBROKER/REX/Shutterstock)