RIL gets green nod for Rs 13,250-crore Dahej petrochemical unit expansion

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Reliance Industries (RIL) has received environment clearance for expansion and debottlenecking of its Dahej petrochemical facility in Gujarat at a cost of Rs 13,250 crore.

The Mukesh Ambani-led firm wants to expand its Dahej facility located in Bharuch district in view of erratic supply of feed stock, change in the government's policy to prioritise domestic supply over industrial sector, adequate supply of Shale gas ethane from the US, besides meeting demand-supply gap of petrochemicals in India.

"Based on the recommendations of the Expert Appraisal Committee (Industry), the Environment Ministry has given the environmental clearance for RIL's expansion project yesterday," a senior government official said.

The green nod to the proposed project, which will be carried out within the existing plant area of 700 hectare, is subject to some conditions, the official said.

The estimated cost of the project is Rs 13,250 crore. A budget of Rs 400 crore will be kept aside for environment protection and conservation.

The fuel used for the proposed project would largely be ethane, lean gas and off gas. The power required for the project will be met from the existing captive power plant.

As per the proposal, RIL Dahej facility presently utilises a mixture of ethane and propane to produce downstream products and by-products.

Dahej facility proposes to modify its feedstock ratio of ethane and propane in the gas cracker plant owing to the availability of shale gas ethane imported from the US.

This change in feedstock mixture will result in higher production of ethylene.

The RIL's proposal also include setting up of new plants including Chlorinated Poly Vinyl Chloride (CPVC), Vinyl Chloride Monomer (VCM), Poly Vinyl Chloride (PVC) and a dedicated Ethane storage tank.