IOC plans to set up Rs 4000-cr ethylene derivative plant in Paradip

Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) is reportedly planning to set up an ethylene derivative plant at its Paradip refinery complex in Orissa with an investment of Rs 4000 crore. “Indian Oil is also evaluating the feasibility of setting up of ethylene derivative plant at an estimated cost of nearly Rs 4000 crore,” said Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, during the foundation laying ceremony for IOC’s Rs 3150 crore polypropylene (PP) plant at Paradip on November 16, 2014.

This will indeed act as a catalyst in the socio economic development of the country and the state in particular. The ethylene plant will provide products that will facilitate manufacturing of polyester chips, fibres, PET bottles, PET chips, polyester yarn, etc.

According to Pradhan, the polypropylene plant will pave way for developing petrochemical hub in this zone. Polypropylene produced by this unit of IOC’s Paradip refinery will be used in ancillaries to make moulded furniture, packaging material, containers, medical disposables, adhesive tapes, etc.

B Ashok, Chairman, Indian Oil Corporation, outlined the key benefits of the PP project aligning with the coming up of Paradip refinery slated to be commissioned this fiscal. The upcoming, Paradip refinery is IOC’s most prestigious and capital intensive project till date and this will be the eleventh refinery of Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. It is configured to contribute enormously to the capacity and profitability of IOC and the nation as a whole. Upon its commissioning, the state of Odisha and the entire Eastern Region would get a boost, said Ashok.

Sanjiv Singh, Director (Refineries), IOC, said, “The laying of the foundation stone of the 700 TMTPA polypropylene unit marks the first step in the direction of integration and progress. The consumption of polypropylene in India has seen a steady rise in the last decade and the trend is likely to continue with the increased use of plastics in automotive, processing and packaging industries.”

With the commissioning of PP unit, expected to be commissioned in the next three years, a number of plastic processing industries will also come up in the area, paving way for the development of a petrochemical hub in this zone. Paradip Refinery will be catering to the energy needs of Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh and West Bengal.

With the commissioning of IOC’s 15 MMTPA grassroots refinery at Paradip, IOC will further augment its refining capacity to over 80.0 MMTPA.