State refiners Indian Oil Co Ltd (IOCL) will likely keep its petrochemical units in Paradip shut as the government of the state of Odisha prolongs the lockdown to fight the coronavirus pandemic, market sources told SSESSMENTS.COM. IOCL began shutting the units in Paradip on March 25 when New Delhi imposed a 21-day nationwide lockdown. The Odisha government on Friday said it would extend the lockdown until the end of April.
IOCL’s Paradip refinery is connected to a 900,000 tons/year propylene unit and 200,000 tons/year ethylene unit. The producer started up a polypropylene (PP) line plant in 2019 and planned to start up a second plant this year. The PP plant has an annual capacity of 700,000 tons.
