Indian petrochemicals producer Adperma will begin commercial production at its new 345,000/215,000 t/yr phenol/acetone plant in Haldia, West Bengal from end-December 2026, the company told Argus on 28 October. Adperma is a subsidiary of Haldia Petrochemicals (HPL).
The new plant is integrated with HPL's existing petrochemical complex, from which it will receive feedstock propylene and benzene. Adperma chief executive Sanjiv Vasudeva said earlier that India could begin exporting acetone after the plant comes on line, for a brief period before domestic demand matches capacity, although the focus remains on supplying the domestic market.
The plant is expected to boost domestic phenol and acetone supplies and reduce its reliance on imports. Another Indian chemical producer, Deepak Nitrite, is establishing a production facility with a capacity of 300,000 t/yr of phenol, 185,000 t/yr of acetone and 100,000 t/yr of isopropyl alcohol. The project will support the group's expanding polycarbonate chain in Gujarat, where it already operates phenol-acetone assets and downstream polycarbonate facilities.
India is a net importer of phenol, bringing in 284,488t in 2025 compared with exports of 23,097t in the same year, according to Global Trade Tracker (GTT) data. The country sources large volumes of phenol from southeast Asia and China, with Thailand and China making up around 32pc and 16pc, respectively, of India's phenol imports during 2021-25, GTT data show. India imported 149,877t of phenol from January-August this year, with Thai and China-origin phenol making up the bulk of the inflows at 65,155t and 31,530t respectively, according to GTT data. Indian petrochemical producers are increasingly exploring specialty chemical investments and seeking technology tie-ups with foreign companies to reduce reliance on imports.
Asian phenol production margins have been poor because of high feedstock benzene prices and low consumption from the derivatives sector. The price spread between domestic Chinese phenol and benzene was at -Yn651.50/t on 15 October, falling from -Yn107.50/t on 17 September and Yn550/t on 13 August, Argus data show.
