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To be commissioned in 2015, the new plant will be India’s only manufacturer of butyl rubber and the JV will be amongst the world’s top five manufacturers of butyl rubber.
RIL and Russia's Sibur signed the JV in February 2012 to produce 100,000 tonnes of butyl rubber per annum. RIL owns 74.9% of the JV while Sibur owns 25.1%.
“India is one of the most attractive petrochemicals markets right now due to the significant investment in infrastructure which has spurred demand. Sibur’s technologies together with Reliance’s infrastructure and resources will help to establish a facility that will meet the demand for butyl rubber in Asian market," said Dmitry Konov, CEO, Sibur.
RIL and Sibur signed a technology licence agreement facilitating use of Sibur's proprietary butyl rubber production technology at the new facility.
The licensing package includes development of a Basic Engineering Package (BEP) and full-time provision of highly-experienced technical personnel on both project and operational stages.
RIL will supply monomer and provide the JV with world-class infrastructure and utilities.
Reliance has already started market seeding butyl rubber from Sibur in India.
"The project is progressing as per the original schedule. The BEP has already been completed in Nov 2012, and Detailed Engineering is underway. At present, RSEPL is placing orders for long-lead equipment. When complete, the Jamnagar plant will have the capacity to produce 100,000 tonnes annually," said RIL in a press statement.
