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IndianOil Board has greenlighted the setting up of India's first mega-scale maleic anhydride plant, to manufacture value-added chemical products, at its Panipat Refinery and Petroleum Complex (PRPC).

The project with a capex of Rs 3,681 crore will be commissioned in 54 months from stage 1 investment approval.

The project is proposed to have a capacity of 120 KTA (kilo tonnes per annum) of maleic anhydride (MAH) that is used to make speciality products like polyester resins and surface coatings, plasticisers, agrochemicals, and lubricant additives. The plant will also manufacture 20 KTA of 1,4-butanediol (BDO) that finds applications in polyurethanes, polybutylene terephthalates (PBT) - an engineering grade plastic and biodegradable fibres.

Another value-added chemical, tetra hydro duran (THF), will also be produced from this plant to accelerate the growth of the pharmaceutical industry. THF is also widely used in adhesives and vinyl films.

On the newly approved project, IndianOil Chairman S.M. Vaidya said: "Presently, these high demand chemicals are mostly imported by India. The upcoming MAH Plant will reduce import dependence and save foreign exchange of about $150 million per year, thus strengthening the mission of Aatmanirbhar Bharat. Moreover, petrochemicals integration is the cornerstone of our future growth strategy, given the high potential of petrochemicals in India.

"This project will consolidate IndianOil's basket of niche products and increase the Lube and Petrochemical Integrity Index of Panipat Refinery to more than 15 per cent after the refinery expansion plan is implemented."

The ongoing expansion of the Panipat Refinery (envisaging capacity expansion of the refinery from 15 MMTPA to 25 MMTPA) and the implementation of petrochemical and other specialised units will make this refinery one of the most advanced and integrated refinery and petrochemical complexes in Asia, with a complexity index of over 15. The expansion blueprint includes units like Indmax for deriving maximum value from the petrochemical molecule, polypropylene unit and a lube complex for producing lube oil base stock apart from other refinery units.

The existing olefinic and aromatic complex shall also be expanded along with the implementation of grass-root speciality petrochemical units like the styrene unit and the just-approved MAH Unit.