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Three Oil PSUs To Set Up Dozen Ethanol SABIC, and FJPEC

Plants At Cost Of Rs 7,000 Crore Signs Joint Venture

tate-run oil marketing companies year, all the petrol sold in the country
SIndian Oil Corporation, Bharat would E10 and then gradually we will
Petroleum Corporation and Hindustan move on to higher blends,” Kapoor
Petroleum Corporation have been given said. As per the road map for ethanol
the mandate to set up around 12 ethanol blending in India 2020-25, by Niti Aayog
manufacturing plants as part of a road and the ministry of petroleum and
map to meet the 20% ethanol blending natural gas, there are certain challenges
target by 2025, according to reports. that need to be overcome before the
Tarun Kapoor, secretary, ministry of target could be achieved. A prominent
petroleum and natural gas said that the challenge includes ensuring availability he Saudi Basic Industries
three oil majors have been asked to set of ethanol across states for blending; TCorporation (SABIC) and China's
up around 150 crore litre per annum about 50% of total pump nozzles in Fujian Petrochemical Industrial Group
ethanol manufacturing capacity out of India are supplying only E0, which means Company (FJPEC) recently signed a
1,000 crore litre that will be required zero blending capacity. Restrictions on joint venture (JV) agreement to build a
to meet the target by 2025. “This will inter-state movement of ethanol due to petrochemical complex in east China’s
entail an investment of Rs 5,000 crore non-implementation of the amended Fujian province. The $6-billion steam
to Rs 7,000 crore,” Kapoor added. The provisions of Industries (Development cracker and ethylene downstream
companies will also be simultaneously & Regulation) Act, 1951, by all the states, project would be built at the Gulei
setting up storage facilities for ethanol is the other big challenge. So far, only 14 Industrial Park. The project will include
procured from other manufacturers, as states have implemented the amended a mixed-feed steam cracker, numerous
the final blending is done by refiners and provisions. Some of the major states downstream facilities and several by-
the oil marketing companies, he said. consuming petrol where implementation product units, a statement from SABIC
The investment will likely be funded by is pending include Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, said. The annual ethylene production
the companies themselves, said a senior Rajasthan, West Bengal, Telangana, capacity would be 1.5 million tonnes.
PSU official.India has already achieved a Odisha and Kerala. The government The two companies will set up a
blending percentage of 5% in FY2021. has also iterated the need for change in 51:49 JV after receiving approval
from relevant Chinese government
authorities. The scope of work includes
a series of downstream production
units, including an ethylene glycol
(MEG) unit, two sets of polyethylene
(PE) units, two polypropylene (PP)
units, and other production units.
Fujian Petrochemical Company
(FPCL), a 50:50 JV between FJPEC
and Sinopec, owns a 50 per cent stake
in Fujian Refining & Petrochemical
Company Ltd (FREP), a joint venture
This year, it is estimated that India will marketing infrastructure by setting up with ExxonMobil China (25 per cent)
cross 8% blending average. “We hope to additional storage tanks for ethanol at and Saudi Aramco Sino Company
procure about 330-340 crore litres this marketing terminals and depots, need (25 per cet), according to FREP's
year against 173 crore litres last year,” for ethanol compliant dispensing units. website. SABIC is the chemicals
Kapoor had said in a webinar recently. Besides, having additional underground arm of Aramco, following Aramco’s
At present, petrol is being sold with tank, pipes, hoses and dispensing units acquisition of a 70 per cent stake in the
10% ethanol which is E10 while the for ethanol at the retail outlets. company in June 2020.
target is to reach E20 by 2025. “Next

33 PLASTICS NEWS SEPTEMBER 2021