Assam refinery sends first consignment of paraffin wax to Kenya

Assam's Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) has sent its first consignment of Type-II paraffin wax to the Rok Industries in Kenya from its marketing terminal in Golaghat, the refinery said on Wednesday.

The 60-tonne consignment was flagged off by the refinery's Technical Director S.R. Medhi on Tuesday evening.

The NRL's wax plant was dedicated to the nation by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in February this year at a public function in Dibrugarh town. The 50,000-tonne a year wax plant was commissioned in March last year at a cost of Rs 676 crore.

The country's largest wax producing unit has indigenous technology developed by the Indian Institute of Petroleum (IIP) Dehradun, Engineers India Ltd (EIL) and NRL.

Since its wax plant was commissioned, the NRL has emerged as the largest manufacturer and marketer of wax in the country with a market share of more than 52 per cent.

Leveraging on the inherent properties of wax-rich crude oil from Assam's oil fields, the plant is designed to produce superior quality paraffin and micro-crystalline wax. It is a worthy manifestation of the "Make in India" campaign of the central government.

Till now, a major part of the country's annual demand for paraffin wax along with the entire demand for micro-crystalline wax was being met through imports. NRL's wax plant has minimised the supply deficit in the domestic market substantially, thus reducing imports.

Paraffin wax is used in making candles, tarpaulin sheets, food grade wrappers and in PVC pipe manufacturing industries while micro-crystalline Wax finds widespread application in the manufacture of tyres, rubber products, paints and polishes, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics.

--IANS

ah/lok/vt