IOCL Approves 61,077 Cr. Investment to Set Up Paradip Petrochem Complex
Indian Oil Corporation of India Ltd. (IOCL or IndianOil), will be investing Rs. 61,077 crore to set up a petrochemical complex at Paradip, Odisha. The company stated in a stock filing dated 22nd March 2023 that its board has given approval for setting up the aforementioned complex.
Largest Ever Investment at a Single Location by Indian Oil
Upcoming Paradip Petrochemical Complex will entail IOCL’s largest investment at a single location till date.
Wide Range of Petrochem Products to be Produced at Paradip Petrochemical Complex
IOCL’s upcoming petrochemical complex will be equipped with a hydrocarbon cracking unit and other specialised downstream processing units to manufacture a wide range of petroleum-derived chemicals.
The plant will manufacture extensively used polymers such as Poly Vinyl Chloride (PVC), High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE), Linear Low-Density Polyethylene (LLDPE) and Poly Propylene (PP). In addition to these, chemicals such as Phenol, which is used majorly in the pharmaceuticals industry, and Propyl alcohol will be produced at IOCL’s planned Paradip petrochemical complex.
Speaking about this project, Mr. Shrikant Madhav Vaidya, Chairman of IndianOil said, “This cutting-edge, state-of-the-art petrochemical complex will undoubtedly be transformative in its impact, significantly advancing the Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative”.
IOCL’s Project a Major Push for Developing Petrochem Ecosystem at PCPIR Paradip
Indian Oil’s upcoming petrochemical complex will mark a major investment at the Petroleum, Chemicals and Petrochemicals Investment Region (PCPIR), Paradip. With this upcoming project, IOCL will be a step closer to establishing a comprehensive plastics ecosystem at Paradip and realise its petrochemical targets.
Mr. Shrikant Madhav Vaidya, had stated in an interview with PTI in February 2023 that the Petrochemical Intensity Index (PII) of IOCL’s Paradip refinery would be increased to 25% from the current 15-20%. PII represents the share of crude oil which is converted into petrochemicals.
IOCL has set a target of achieving an overall PII of 14-15% by 2030. Currently, IOCL’s overall PII sits between 5% and 6%.
Existing Commitments of Indian Oil at PCPIR Paradip
PCPIR Paradip sprawls over an area of 284 sq. Km, and has IOCL as its anchor tenant with a 15 MMTPA refinery, which was commissioned in 2016.
Apart from this, IOCL had implemented a PP plant of 6,80,000 tonnes capacity in 2019.
Earlier, in July 2020, IOCL had announced an investment of Rs. 13,805 crore in the PCPIR, Paradip to develop a Para-Xylene (PX) and Purified Terephthalic Acid (PTA) complex, which is planned to be completed by 2024. This complex will also have a Monoethylene Glycol (MEG) manufacturing facility which will churn out 357,000 tonne of MEG annually. MEG is a key ingredient to produce polyester fibres and Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) plastics.
About IOCL: Indian Oil Corporation Limited is an Indian Government-owned oil and gas producer and explorer. Headquartered in New Delhi, IOCL is a ‘Maharatna’ Public Sector Undertaking (PSU), under the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas (MoPNG). IndianOil operates 11 refineries in India and has a refining capacity of 80.55 MMTPA (Million Metric Tonnes Per Annum).
