India's private-sector Reliance Industries (RIL) has started operations at its 1.15mn t/yr capacity No.2 PTA unit at Dahej on the country's west coast.
The plant started up yesterday, in line with the firm's initial schedule. It aims to reach on-specification production in two days.
RIL's plans to bring the unit on line in September-October were well known, but some market participants expressed surprise that the plant has started up so quickly given PTA supply exceeds demand in India.
The country's PTA capacity was nearly 5.2mn t/yr before the new Dahej unit came on line, well above demand of 4.3mn t/yr as of end-2014. The additional supply will force Indian PTA producers to find other outlets to absorb the fiber intermediate in the future.
RIL is the largest PTA producer in India with total capacity of 4.35mn t/yr. The firm started its Dahej No.1 unit with nameplate capacity of 1.15mn t/yr in April. It operates another 2.05mn t/yr of capacity in Hazira and Patalganga.
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