IOC plans to export polypropylene to Pak
New Delhi   06-Aug-2010

Having commenced commercial production of polymer recently, the state-owned IndianOil (IOC) has mooted a proposal to export the product to Pakistan, which at present is being produced at its Panipat plant.

According to sources in the refinery, the polymers would be exported to Pakistan by rail or road across the Punjab border. The sources said the polymer would be delivered at Lahore where buyers from the neighbouring country would be able to procure it.

The IOC had recently entered into the polymer business which is dominated by Reliance Industries. The local plant has a capacity to produce 600,000 TPA of polypropylene. The sources said the test run of the plant was initiated in April this year and by June it was running at 80 per cent of its capacity. The exports will start in six months and IOC will be exporting about 10 per cent of the total produce.

The first commercial consignment was sent in May this year from the naphtha cracker unit which would be using 2.4 million tonnes of naphtha every year. It would be supplied from IOC's Gujarat, Mathura and Panipat refineries. The unit would also be producing 50,000 tonnes of ethylene along with polypropylene annually. The IOC already has a network across various states in the country and it has been banking on this to lead in polymer business. The IOC is also eyeing markets in Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, China and some of the European nations for exporting the polymer.