Paradip Refinery : IndianOil to move ahead with $1.8bn PX/PTA project

The Indian Oil Corporation (IndianOil or IOCL) said that its board has approved the INR 138.05 billion ($1.8 billion) integrated Para-Xylene (PX) and Purified Terephthalic Acid (PTA) complex project (PX/PTA project) at its Paradip Refinery in Odisha, India.

The Indian government-owned petroleum refining company said that the PX-PTA complex will be integrated with the Paradip oil refinery, which has been operating since 2015.

SM Vaidya – Chairman of IndianOil said: “This plant, along with the upcoming MEG (Mono-Ethylene Glycol) plant of 357-KTA (kilo tonnes per annum) capacity at Paradip, would be a ready source of feedstock for IndianOil’s upcoming 300-KTA textile yarn manufacturing project at Bhadrak in Odisha, and can similarly facilitate other textile and polyester projects in the region.

“We are sure that these investments, along with investments in other downstream projects, will boost entrepreneurship not only in Odisha but in the entire Eastern India that would contribute to the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ and ‘Make in India’ vision of our nation.”

IndianOil to move ahead with $1.8bn PX/PTA project at the Paradip Refinery. Image courtesy of Indian Oil/Wikimedia Commons.

According to IndianOil, the PX/PTA project will be finished by early 2024 to produce 800,000 tonnes per annum of Para-Xylene, which will be the feedstock for producing Purified Terephthalic Acid.

The petroleum refining company said that the production capacity of Purified Terephthalic Acid will be 1,200,000 tonnes per annum. Purified Terephthalic Acid, along with Monoethylene glycol (MEG), is a raw material used for producing polyester.

IndianOil has already been implementing a MEG production facility at the Paradip Refinery, which is expected to begin operations towards the end of the next year.

The Indian downstream company said that the availability of Purified Terephthalic Acid and Monoethylene glycol production capabilities at the Paradip oil refinery will give a fillip to polyester manufacturing facilities in the nearby areas.

IndianOil also expects to produce 50,000 tonnes per annum of Toluene at the Odisha refinery. Following the commissioning of PTA and MEG projects, the Petrochemical Intensity Index of the Paradip Refinery will surge to 14.7 from the current level of 4.5, said the company.