MOSCOW (MRC) -- Indian Oil Corp (IOC) India's largest refiner, is reviewing its refinery expansion plans because of a gradual rise in use of cleaner fuels and changing demand patterns in Asia's third-largest economy, reported Reuters with reference to IOC's chairman's statement.
In 2018 India set a target for a 77% jump in refining capacity to about 9 MM barrels per day (bpd) by 2030, with IOC raising capacity to 2.6 MM bpd.
However, Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell, an oil ministry think-tank, is revising the supply and demand scenario for the country.
"Based on that study we will revise our numbers as well," IOC Chairman S.M. Vaidya told a news conference on Monday.
"Demand is not really destructive in our country. It has got deferred. Nevertheless, we are reviewing our refinery expansion plans."
Vaidya said that IOC's focus is on adding higher capacity through expansion of existing units and raising petrochemical capacity to protect margins.
"As far as grassroots projects are concerned, we are reviewing all projects," he added.
IOC will also review expansion of its Paradip refinery when the revised supply and demand figures are available, he said.
As MRC informed previously, Indian Oil Corp, the country’s top refiner, is close to winning its first contract to export up to 720,000 tons of clean products to Mauritius under an annual deal from November.
We remind that Indian Oil says it will build an integrated paraxylene (PX) and purified terephthalic acid (PTA) facility at Paradip in Odisha State, India, at an estimated investment of 138 billion Indian rupees (USD1.84 billion). The project will be completed by early 2024, with the complex planned to produce 800,000 metric tons/year of PX and 1.2 million metric tons/year of PTA, it says.
PTA is used to produce polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which is used in the manufacturing of plastic bottles, films, packaging containers, in the textile and food industries.
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PET consumption totalled 367,720 tonnes in the first six months of 2020, up by 19% year on year. Russian companies processed 62,910 tonnes of material in June.
Indian Oil Corporation Limited, or IndianOil, is an Indian state-owned oil and gas corporation with its headquarters in New Delhi, India.
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