Vadodara (Gujarat)
The Indian Oil Corporation’s (IOC)Gujarat Refinery at Vadodara is investing ₹24,000 crore to help it diversify into the petrochemicals segment by commissioning two petrochemical units during calendar year 2025.
“The energy landscape is changing very quickly in our country. In order to remain future-ready we are diversifying into petrochemical projects. It is expected that fuel demand will go down in 10-15 years, and to enable IOC to survive we need to diversify into petrochemicals and other sectors,” Biplob Biswas, executive director and refinery head of Gujarat Refinery, said Wednesday.
“Currently, we are manufacturing Linear Alkyl Benzene (LAB). This is the base material used in soaps and detergents. We are also manufacturing Sulphur Bentonite in small quantities. From this year onwards we will start manufacturing Polypropylene and Butyl Acrylate, a base material for the paint industry,” Biswas said about 500 KPTA (Kilotonnes per annum) of polypropylene capacity and 150 KPTA of Butyl Acrylate units are being set up near Vadodara. The upgraded LAB unit of the refinery now has a capacity of 162 KPTA, which has increased from 120 KPTA last year.
By 2030, petrochemicals will constitute 15 per cent of IOC’s product portfolio. Currently, it is less than five per cent. IOC has a total refining capacity of 80.55 MTPA (million tonnes per annum) of which 13.7 MTPA is at Vadodara. Gujarat Refinery was set up as a 2 MTPA refinery in 1965. It has now grown into a 13.7 MTPA integrated refinery-cum-petrochemical complex.
When asked why the refinery took more than two decades to expand from 13.7 MTPA it achieved in 2001, Biswas said, “During this period, major refiners came up in Gujarat. Fuel was therefore available to meet the demand then. Now supply is falling short of demand and so we have decided to catch up.” IOCL officials also said that between 2001 and 2025, Gujarat Refinery focused on investing in upgrading the quality to meet the stringent norms of the fuel which includes BS-II, BS-III, BS-IV and BS-VI. The refinery sources indigenous crude from Mehsana and Ankleshwar while it sources low and high sulphur crude as imports from Russia, Nigeria, middle-east and others.
The ₹17,825 crore Petrochemical and Lube Integration ( LuPech) Project aims to produce Polypropylene and Lube Oil Base Stock, raising the refinery’s capacity from 13.7 MTPA to 18 MTPA. The project includes critical units like Indmax, Octamax, Propylene Recovery Unit, MS Block - ISOM & NSU, Lube Oil Block, New VDU, and Polypropylene Unit. It is expected to be commissioned by the end of 2025.
The ₹5,894 crore Acrylics/Oxo-Alcohol project at Dumad, scheduled for completion in 2025, will produce Butyl Acrylate, a key ingredient for paints & coatings, adhesives, and textile chemicals, which will substitute imports, thereby boosting the economy. The project includes setting up the Acrylic Acid (AA) Unit, Normal Butyl Alcohol (NBA) Unit, Syn-Gas Unit, Hydrogen, and Butyl Acrylate (BA) Unit.