The Chatterjee Group (TCG) is currently engaged in discussions with both domestic and international companies to collaborate with its majority-owned petrochemical venture, Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd (HPL), for the development of a project exceeding $10 billion in southern India.
TCG has outlined plans to establish an oil-to-chemical project, with a projected capacity of 3.5 million metric tons per year (tpy) of ethylene and propylene, in Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu by the years 2028 to 2029. Haldia CEO Navanit Narayan indicated that the project aims to achieve financial closure by the conclusion of 2024.
Narayan emphasized the potential for increased value addition within the chemicals sector, highlighting a significant market opportunity due to the prevalent importation of the targeted chemicals in India. He expressed optimism regarding the projected higher margins achievable through this endeavour.
Currenlty, HPL operates a one million tpy petrochemical plant in eastern India and is concurrently developing India’s largest integrated phenol project at Haldia. The company’s strategic objective includes enhancing profitability through the localized production of specialty chemicals.
Driven by India’s burgeoning economy, which necessitates a diverse range of products spanning from plastics to paints and chemicals such as monoethylene glycol, domestic companies are augmenting their petrochemical manufacturing capacities. Narayan noted that while India’s western region is saturated with petrochemical projects, the southern region lacks a sizable petrochemical facility to cater to local demand.
As reported by Business Journal, India’s petrochemical consumption currently stands at approximately one-third of the global average, leading to substantial reliance on imports to meet the demand for specialty chemicals. Narayan projected a need for a cracker of global scale every eighteen months to support the industry’s annual growth rate, which exceeds 7%-8%.
