India's state-owned energy firm Gail has resumed petrochemicals production at its Pata facility in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh on 19 May, following a shutdown that lasted over two months, a source familiar with the matter told Argus.
The plant has been shut since 9 March after a government order directed gas distributors to start full or partial curtailment of gas supplies to petrochemical plants, including ONGC Petro Additions (Opal), Gail Pata and Reliance's oil-to-chemicals units.
The Pata complex will likely run at a reduced operating rate this week, another source told Argus, although the exact run rate could not be confirmed. It was not immediately clear if the New Delhi issued a fresh order that allowed for a phased restart of the petrochemicals project.
India's Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Gail did not immediately respond to Argus requests for comment. The status of the other plants could also not be determined at the time of writing.
Gail's Pata facility has two steam crackers with a combined ethylene production capacity of 900,000 t/yr. It also has a linear low-density polyethylene/high-density polyethylene (LLDPE/HDPE) swing unit with a capacity of 610,000 t/yr and a separate HDPE capacity of 200,000 t/yr. The plant sources feedstock through a pipeline from Indian state-owned upstream firm ONGC's Hazira plant on the west coast of Gujarat.
The restart of the plant would bolster domestic supply, partially offsetting reduced availability from Middle Eastern producers, which account for 62pc of India's PE imports, data from Global Trade Tracker show.
