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BPCL Kochi Refinery is set to enter its next development phase of being an integrated refinery-cum-petrochemical unit with its ₹5,246-crore Propylene Derivatives Petrochemical Project (PDPP) getting ready for commissioning shortly.
Upon the project’s commissioning, the Kochi Refinery will become the first Indian refinery to produce niche petrochemicals that are being imported in large quantities. The PDPP project will help Kochi Refinery to produce Acrylates, Acrylic Acid and Oxo-Acohol, Prasad K.Panicker, Executive Director, told reporters.
The project will help reduce imports of niche petrochemical products and lead to savings of ₹4,500 crore per year.
Acrylic acid will be the first product that be made available in December and the company has set up the largest single train unit in the world with a capacity of 160 KTPA, the first of its kind in India. The product will find takers in industries such as paints, coatings, adhesives, water treatment and solvents.
At present, acrylic acid is being imported at a cost of $1400 a tonne. With the commissioning of the project, the company is likely to cater to 75 per cent of the domestic demand and the price would come down at $1000 per tonne. The company's marketing team has already started discussions with industrial units in South India to ensure the availability of the product locally, he said adding that the project will attract many ancillary industries to Kochi.
The Oxo-Alcohol unit with a capacity of 212 KTPA is the largest and the second such unit. With the availability of products from PDPP and the coming petrochemical ventures of BPCL, the Kerala Government plans to set up a petrochemical park in the vicinity.
The company had embarked on petrochemical ventures following the recent expansion and modernisation of the refinery at a cost of ₹16,500 crore. This was made possible through Integrated Refinery Expansion Project (IREP). Strategically, IREP units are configured to produce half a million tonnes of propylene, which is the raw material for the PDPP units, he said.
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