RIL to invest $3 billion in new petrochem complex

Mukesh Ambani-controlled Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) is planning to spend $3 billion for a new petrochemical complex at Jamnagar.

The new complex will utilise residual gases generated from the two existing refineries, of which one is located in a special economic zone (SEZ), to generate further downstream products.

With this addition, Reliance would be adding two million tonnes a year, taking its overall output capacity of olefins and matching downstream capacities to four million tonnes.

“The investment could be in the range of $3 billion, depending on raw material prices,” said a Reliance official on condition of anonymity.

The decision on whether the new complex will come up inside the SEZ or outside is yet to be finalised, sources in the know of the development said.

The project will come up in two phases. The first phase will see recovery of ethylene gases from various units in the refineries and this will be used to produce low density polyethylene (LDPE).

The second phase will see recovery of ethane and propane from the residual gases, besides setting up a cracker unit to further produce products like ethylene and propylene. Various downstream products like low LDPE and mono ethylene glycol can be produced from this unit, sources said.

RIL is all set to expand its presence in butadiene rubber and also investing in new styrene butadiene rubber plants to reinforce its position in the synthetic rubber market.

With the commissioning of the new refinery —Jamnagar Export Refinery Project — Jamnagar has now become a global petroleum hub, with 1.24 million barrels per day of crude processing capacity, representing the single largest refining complex anywhere in the world.

This is equivalent to about 2 per cent of global capacity or a third of India’s capacity, and places Reliance amongst the top 10 private sector refiners globally, Mukesh Ambani, chairman of RIL, said in the recent annual general meeting.

The Jamnagar SEZ is likely to emerge as the biggest special economic zone in the country, with its exports likely to touch Rs 50,000 crore by the end of this financial year, said a senior official in the SEZ Development Commissioner’s office.