IOC's INDMAX refining technology licensed to Serbian oil & gas company

After creating ripples in the domestic refining sector, state-owned Indian Oil Corporation's (IOC) state-of-the-art INDMAX refining technology has been selected by a Serbian oil and gas company for production of higher value products from crude oil.

The first-ever overseas agreement to licence the refinery process technology for high propylene production was signed between Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS) of Serbia and Lummus Technology Inc, USA, in the presence of IOC Chairman Sanjiv Singh and S S V Ramakumar, director (R&D) at Belgrade, Serbia, according to a company statement.

"This breakthrough has opened up new vistas for expanding the global footprint of the 'Make in India' product," it said.

It said INDMAX refining technology, with Lummus Technology Inc as the global licensing partner, has been selected through a global tender by NIS.

NIS is one of the largest vertically integrated oil and gas companies in Southeast Europe, with the Russian oil and gas conglomerate, Gazprom Neft (GPN), as its major shareholder.

"The selection of INDMAX technology was preceded by a rigorous due-diligence process involving demonstration of the credentials of the novel FCC (fluidised catalytic cracking) technology that is successfully operating at the 4.17 million tonnes per annum INDMAX unit at IOC's Paradip refinery since December 2015," the statement said.

IOC's R&D centre developed INDMAX in-house to enhance refinery profit margins by achieving high yields of liquefied petroleum gas, light olefins and high-octane gasoline from residual petroleum hydrocarbon streams and fractions.

The efficacy of the technology was first demonstrated by setting up a 1 lakh tonnes per annum unit at the company's Guwahati refinery in 2003.

This was followed by the mega INDMAX unit at Paradip Refinery in 2015, which placed IOC in the league of world-class refinery process licensors. A third INDMAX unit of 0.74 million tonnes per annum is under commissioning at IOC's Bongaigaon Refinery.