Nayara Energy, a company backed by Russian oil major Rosneft, announced that it is well on track for its entry into the petrochemicals sector.
At its Vadinar refinery in Gujarat, Nayara is constructing Phase 1 of the project, which includes the construction of a 450 ktpa polypropylene plant, a propylene recovery unit, upgrades to the current FCC unit (fluidized catalytic cracking unit), and a polypropylene unit (PPU).
To enter the petrochemicals industry, Nayara Energy has adopted a phase-wise asset development strategy. The Company is well situated to make a strong entry into this high growth sector thanks to Nayara’s strategically located 20 MMTPA refinery in Western India, the region of the country with the highest petrochemical consumption. It is also close to its jetty.
Phase 1 of the project is over 85% complete, and by Q4 of 2023, production of the first petrochemical product, polypropylene, is anticipated.
The company completed routine maintenance, inspection, and upgrades for its units as well as all necessary tie-ins for Phase-1 during the recently scheduled Refinery Shutdown 2022.
On December 20, 2022, the redesigned FCC Unit was safely put into service, and on December 23, 2022, 100% unit throughput was reached.
Dr. Alois Virag, CEO, Nayara Energy Ltd. said, “With completion of the FCC revamp, we have made significant progress on our Petrochemical entry. The planned phase-wise execution of the project is a testimony of Nayara’s capabilities to successfully deliver on mega projects. This capability will serve us well for our larger phase II project, which will be an integrated Petrochemical complex.”
The company anticipates starting pre-commissioning activities for its Propylene Recovery Unit in February 2023, with the majority of the work already completed.
Furthermore, the majority of the long-lead items for its polypropylene unit, including the extruder, reactor, product purge bin column, and compressors, have been assembled on site, and the emphasis is now on finishing the piping and building works.