IOC's Paradip petchem tenders
IndianOil is racing ahead with plans to construct a Greenfield petrochemicals facility at its Paradip refinery in Odisha.
On March 21 (2023), IndianOil told the BSE company directors had approved the estimated Rs61,077cr ($7.4bn) project designed partly to "de-risk its fossil fuel business." Since then, IndianOil has issued a raft of tenders to identify licensors for each of the project's production units despite not yet applying for mandatory environmental clearance.
On March 30 (2023), IndianOil released a tender to select a licensor for the proposed 61-kilo/year Butene-1 unit to produce LLDPE and HDPE polymers used to produce, among other things, telecom ducts, fuel tanks, meters and valve boxes. Among the possible suitors for this contract are Paris-headquartered Axens, Netherlands-based LyondellBasell, and Honeywell (UOP).
Another tender released on March 30 (2023) is for the cumene unit used to produce phenol, detergents, di-isopropylbenzene, acetophenone, and styrene. Three companies attended the pre-bid meeting on April 12 (2023) ahead of the May 12 (2023) bid deadline: Lummus Technologies, Honeywell (UOP) and Technip Energies.
On April 7 (2023), IndianOil issued a third tender for a licensor for an isopropyl alcohol unit used mainly to produce hand sanitisers, aftershave lotion and cosmetics. Honeywell (UOP), thyssenkrupp Uhde and Lummus Technologies might be interested in this contract.
On April 17 (2023), IndianOil issued a fourth tender to find a licensor for its proposed naphtha cracker unit, which produces ethylene used to manufacture plastic. Linde Engineering, Axens, Honeywell (UOP), and Lummus Technologies would typically be interested in a contract of this sort.