Indian Oil Corp. Ltd. (IOC) has let a contract to Univation Technologies LLC for licensing of a major downstream derivatives unit at IOC’s proposed petrochemical complex to be built nearby and integrated with the operator’s existing 15-million tonnes/year (tpy) refinery in Paradip, Odisha, on India’s northeastern coast.
As part of the Sept. 16 contract, Univation will license its proprietary UNIPOL polyethylene (PE) process for the complex’s grassroots swing unit, which will use a suite of Univation technologies to produce a combined 650,000 tpy of both linear low-density PE (LLDPE) and high-density PE (HDPE) to meet rising demand for PE in critical applications across industries, the service provider said.
Univation specifically will license its proprietary conventional UCAT J Unimodal HDPE-LLDPE, advanced PRODIGY Bimodal HDPE, and advanced ACCLAIM Unimodal HDPE technologies for the unit, as well as supply its proprietary XCAT metallocene catalysts to enable production of high-demand metallocene PE grades.
In addition to delivering design, commissioning, and startup services for the new production line, Univation said it also will provide IOC use of the service provider’s PREMIER APC+ 3.0 advanced process control platform, which is tailored for UNIPOL PE process to enhance operating performance, optimize raw-material yields, and deliver consistent and efficient product-grade transitions across the PE resin-grade portfolio.
This latest contract for Paradip’s planned petrochemical complex follows the operator’s previous contract award to Technip Energies NV for delivery of the basic engineering design package and technology licensing on the main 1.5-million tpy naphtha cracking unit for production of ethylene (OGJ Online, June 20, 2024).
Project overview
Granted in-principle approval by IOC’s board in late-March 2023 for execution of preliminary project activities—including preparation of a detailed feasibility report—Stage 1 of the proposed Paradip petrochemical megacomplex is estimated at a cost of 610.77 billion rupees (US$7.39 billion), which would be IOC’s largest single-site investment ever (OGJ Online, Apr. 4, 2023).
To become one of four of India’s proposed Petroleum, Chemicals, & Petrochemical Investment Regions (PCPIR), the Paradip petrochemical complex—once completed—will be set up on 284 sq km of land spread over Jagatsinghpur and Kendrapara districts and anchored by IOC’s Paradip refinery and petrochemical units.
Together, the refinery and its existing petrochemical units would supply the proposed complex all necessary feedstock, including monoethylene glycol, petcoke-based synthetic ethanol, and paraxylene-purified terephthalic acid (PX-PTA), according to documentation from India’s National Investment Promotion & Facilitation Agency.
In addition to the naphtha cracker, IOC and the government of India has said the Paradip petrochemical complex will house downstream process units for producing derivative products that—in addition to PE, HDPE, and LLDPE—would include polyvinyl chloride, and monoethylene glycol (MEG), as well as production of niche chemicals such as phenol and isopropyl alcohol.
Earlier in the year, IOC let a contract to Lummus Technology LLC and Eni SPA subsidiary Versalis SPA to jointly deliver technology licensing for a new 400,000-tpy cumene unit to be installed at the planned petrochemical complex (OGJ Online, Apr. 24, 2024).
IOC previously said the Paradip petrochemical complex would be equipped to produce a combined 3 million tpy of polyvinyl chloride, phenol, isopropyl alcohol, and other unidentified polymers.
Now India’s second-largest petrochemical producer with a combined production nameplate capacity of about 4 million tpy, IOC said in its latest investor presentation that completing the Paradip petrochemical complex would mark a major milestone in the company’s broader strategy of increasing its petrochemical intensity index (PII)—or petrochemical integration level—by 2030 to at least 15% from its current PII of about 6.3%.
While the operator confirmed in its latest annual report that land acquisition and tendering of project management consultants have been initiated, neither the operator nor the government of India have officially confirmed details regarding an anticipated timeframe for completion of the entire Paradip PCPIR or other potential operators planning to participate in the project.
