RIL completes $16-b expansion,doubles ethylene capacity to 4mt

Mumbai, Jan 2 (PTI) Reliance has commissioned theworld's largest off-gas cracker facility at its Jamnagarcomplex, completing its multi-billion-dollar expansion whichhas seen it doubling the ethylene capacity and entering theleague of top 5 petrochemical producers globally.The commissioning of the cracker plant increases RIL'scombined ethylene capacity to close to 4 million metric tonneper annum at its five sites.With this, Jamnagar in Gujarat has also become home tothe world's largest operating refinery off-gas cracker, saidRIL that also runs the world's largest single locationpetroleum refinery at Jamnagar with a 60 million tonne annualcapacity.Commissioning of the ethylene plant integratesfeedstock with the two refineries nearby, thus providingsustainable cost advantage to RIL over its global peers."The world's first ROGC and downstream plants marks aparadigm shift in profitability and sustainability of ourpetchem business as the complex deeply integrates ourfeedstock, reducing cost massively. This expansion once againshowcases our competitive advantage in efficient execution ofcomplex projects," chairman Mukesh Ambani was quoted as sayingin a statement.According to RIL, the new facility is the world'sfirst ever and the largest refinery off-gas cracker (ROGC)complex of 1.5 mmtpa capacity along with downstream plants andutilities"The new facility is the world's first ever and thelargest refinery off-gas cracker (ROGC) complex of 1.5 mmtpacapacity along with downstream plants and utilities," RIL saidin a statement."This is the largest ever expansion of RIL'spetrochemicals portfolio, and is also the last leg of themulti-billion dollar capex cycle, which was also one thelargest capex programmes globally in the sector in recenttimes," it said.In 2014, the company had announced a USD 16 billioncapex plan at Jamnagar. "This complex epitomises our core strategy ofcontinuously pursuing opportunities for cost optimisation andefficiency enhancement through vertical integration across thevalue chain," RIL said, adding the complex's uniqueness isthat it uses off-gases from RIL's two refineries at Jamnagaras feedstock. Integration of feedstock with refineries provides asustainable cost advantage, making the ROGC competitive withrespect to the crackers in Middle East and North America whichhave feedstock cost advantage, the company said. The Jamnagar ROGC is the latest addition to RIL'sexisting cracker portfolio, consisting of cracker facilitiesat Nagothane in Maharashtra and Hazira, Dahej and Vadodara inGujarat. There are around 270 ethylene plants in the world with acombined capacity of over 170 mmtpa, while RIL's combinedethylene capacity is close to 4 mmtpa now at fivemanufacturing sites.Ethylene from the ROGC is used in downstream plants toproduce mono-ethylene glycol (MEG) and polyethylene.Similarly, propylene from ROGC has enhanced output of theexisting polypropylene (PP) plants at Jamnagar complex.In the past three years, the company has alreadycommissioned the para-xylene (PX), purified terephthalic acid(PTA), polyester filament and poly ethylene terephthalate(PET) plants.The company claimed that the ROGC complex was built ina record time with around 40 per cent lower capital costcompared to similar projects globally.The RIL counter, which is the largest in terms of market capitalisation at Rs 5.77 trillion, ended the trade flat at Rs 911.40 on the BSE whose benchmark also ended flat.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)