India’s Tamil Nadu state plans largescale petchem projects

MUMBAI (ICIS)–The south Indian state of Tamil Nadu plans to set up largescale petrochemical projects at three different locations to ensure supply of feedstock to downstream petrochemical producers, Thangam Thennarasu, Industries Minister for Tamil Nadu said.

The three projects to be set up at Thoothukudi, Nagapattinam and Cuddalore will position the State as a petrochemical hub, Thennarasu said on 25 November in New Delhi.

The minister was speaking at the ‘Global Chemical and Petrochemical Manufacturing Hubs in India’ conference organised by industry group Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) in collaboration with India’s Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilisers.

One of the projects is an oil refinery and petrochemical complex, which will be set up at Thoothukudi by Kuwait-based Al Kharafi Group.

The company plans to set up a 10m tonnes/year refinery and a 2m tonnes/year petrochemical plant at a cost of Rs 490bn ($6.53bn).

Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd (CPCL), a subsidiary of Indian Oil Corp (IOC) expects to commence operations at its 9m tonnes/year refinery and petrochemical complex at Nagapattinam by the second quarter of financial year 2025-26.

The refinery will house a 532,000 tonnes/year polypropylene (PP) plant which is expected to provide feedstock to downstream industries in Nagappatinam.

The third project will be set up by Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd (HPL), which will take over the defunct oil refinery project of Nagarjuna Oil Corp Ltd (NOCL) at Cuddalore.

HPL plans to set up an oil-to-chemical (O2C) project at the site and will execute the project in two phases.

In the first phase, it will construct a 1.8m tonnes/year ethylene cracker and downstream units including high density polyethylene (HDPE), linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE), mono ethylene glycol (MEG) and polypropylene (PP) lines.

“These projects also create an immense potential for downstream investment opportunities,” Thennarasu said.

To enhance opportunities for downstream producers, Tamil Nadu is setting up a polymer park near state capital Chennai he said, adding that this park will cater to the needs of plastic manufacturing and logistics industries.

“We have also proposed to establish a pharmaceutical park and another textile park in the state,” he added.

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Focus article by Priya Jestin