IOC prepares to boost Paradip PP output

Indian state-controlled refiner IOC is expected to increase production in the coming months at its new 700,000 t/yr polypropylene (PP) plant at Paradip in east India's Odisha state.

IOC's first PP production line is operational, while its second line will possibly start up in January. The PP plant, commissioned in June this year, is designed to produce homopolymer grades such as raffia, injection and fiber.

IOC currently operates a 600,000 t/yr PP plant in Panipat in north India's Haryana, also producing homopolymer grades.

Indian private-sector firms Reliance Industries and Haldia Petrochemicals, along with state-controlled producers MRPL and ONGC, are India's other key PP producers of PP.

IOC's PP plant in Paradip is coming on line at a time of significant PP oversupply in Asia. Malaysia's state-owned Petronas is set to commission a new 900,000 t/yr plant in Pengerang, while South Korean textile manufacturer Hyosung is readying a 300,000 t/yr unit in Vietnam's Ba Ria-Vung Tau province for early next year.

The increased capacity from IOC will make domestic buyers in India less reliant on imports from the Middle East.

Producers in the Mideast Gulf could find it even more challenging to sell into India next year, if Indian authorities finalise plans to require imports of polymers to meet Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) requirements. The BIS requirements require foreign polymer suppliers exporting to India to register with the government to ensure their imports meet agreed standards, lengthening the time taken to register and import to the country.