Bharat Petroleum Corporation is set to enter into a joint venture agreement with UK-based LP Chemical to build a petrochemical plant at its Kochi refinery in Kerala, India.
According to Businesstandard, Bharat Petroleum Corporation will invest approximately Rs130bn ($2.4bn), while its partner will invest Rs60bn ($1.1bn).
Bharat Petroleum Corporation said the company is also involved in discussions with the Kerala Government for concession on the investment in the planned petrochemical unit.
Bharat Petroleum Corporation chairman and managing director R K Singh said that the company is planning to spend Rs400bn ($7.3bn ) in the next five years to set up a petrochemical plant at the Kochi refinery to produce niche products and expand the capacity of existing refineries.
India's petrochemical industry is estimated at $700m annually, 70% of it which constituted by Reliance Industries, Indian Petrochemicals Corporation and Gas Authority of India, according to Business-standard report.
Bharat Petroleum Corporation said that it is looking forward to produce 500,000t of propylene derivatives yearly, which are being imported at present.
The company is also working on a pre-feasibility report to build two new liquefied natural gas terminals, with a capacity of up to six million tons, with an investment of around $1bn..
BPCL is also planning to expand its refineries in Kochi and Mumbai, the latter by up to three million tons per year through yield optimisation and operational efficiencies.
LP Chemicals manufactures and distributes laboratory chemicals and veterinary chemicals to customer specification.
