Market sources informed SSESSMENTS.COM that some petrochemical producers in India are considering or starting to raise output as the government relaxes some restrictions under its nationwide coronavirus lockdown. Most of the producers are looking to increase operating rates at crackers and downstream units as they anticipate demand to improve in the coming months.
Reliance Industries (RIL) is currently operating its 1.5 million tons/year Jamnagar cracker at full rates after cut production in late March and April due to India’s nationwide lockdown. RIL also runs a 930,000 tons/year cracker in Hazira. Both crackers are integrated with downstream polyethylene (PE) and ethylene glycol (MEG) plants.
Market sources also told SSESSMENTS.COM that state-run Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) is mulling to increase operating rates at its 70,000 tons/year polypropylene (PP) unit in Mumbai and a 500,000 tons/year PP unit Kochi in the coming week. BPCL has been operating the units at about 60% since the lockdown began.
Fellow state-owned company GAIL is considering restarting some of its PE lines in its Pata complex. GAIL can produce around 900,000 tons/year of HDPE/LLDPE, but some output has been halted since the lockdown with operating rates staying at around 50%. GAIL also operates two crackers with a combined capacity of 900,000 tons/year of ethylene in Pata, but details on their operations were unavailable.
Haldia Petrochemicals operated its 700,000 tons/year ethylene cracker in West Bengal at 70% rates after the restart in late April. However, it began increasing production at the unit this week. Haldia shut the cracker on March 23 and declared force majeure on supplies before the lockdown started at midnight on March 25.
