India’s IG Petrochemicals to commission PA expansion by March ‘24

MUMBAI (ICIS)–India’s IG Petrochemicals (IGPL) plans to begin operations at its 53,000 tonne/year phthalic anhydride (PA) expansion project at Taloja in the western Maharashtra state by March 2024, a company source said on Thursday.

“Expansion of our PA project is on track, and we expect to begin operations by March 2024,” the source said.

The brownfield expansion project will be set up at a cost of Indian rupees (Rs) 3.5bn ($42m) and will also increase IGPL’s maleic anhydride (MA) capacity by 1,500 tonnes/year. MA is a byproduct of PA.

IGPL currently produces around 221,000 tonnes/year of PA and 7,660 tonnes/year of MA at its Taloja facility, according to its website.

The company is exploring the feasibility of producing advanced plasticizers which will use PA and MA as feedstock, the source said.

“We have done advanced studies on the products that we are planning to produce. We expect to confirm the product portfolio and capital expenditure requirements in the next nine months,” he added.

Separately, the company plans to venture into the production of biofuels such as compressed biogas and ethanol to meet growing demand in the country, the source said.

“IGPL is currently exploring the feasibility of producing ethanol and also downstream chemicals of ethanol,” he said.

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