State-owned Indian Oil Corp Ltd (IOCL) plans to expand its petrochemical production capacity, chairman S M Vaidya said on October 28. Vaidya also added that the company would review its greenfield and expansion projects to enhance integrated operations with its existing refineries. He noted that IOCL would ensure higher chemical yield per barrel of processed oil and diversify its petrochemical portfolio to maximize profit.
Vaidya said that IOCL aimed at increasing its petrochemical intensity index (PII) to 14-15% over the next ten years. The increased PII is expected to protect the company from price volatility in the fuel markets. Over the last few months, IOCL has approved projects worth $4.6 billion that mostly focused on improving integrated operations between its refineries and petrochemical production lines.
The investments include a $2.6-billion project to build polypropylene (PP) and lube oil base stock units at IOCL’s Gujarat refinery as well as expansion projects at its Panipat and Paradip refineries. Vaidya noted that IOCL would focus on polybutadiene rubber, polyester staple fiber, and polyester filament yarn along the crude oil-to-chemicals (COTC) chain.
