India Oil Corp. Ltd has begun the installation of a grass-roots paraxylene process at a petrochemical complex under construction in Paradip, which is in the state of Orissa on the east coast of India. Construction of the paraxylene process began in January and is expected to be completed in January 2013.
India Oil awarded services contracts to Foster Wheeler Energy Ltd and subsidiary Foster Wheeler India Private Ltd, for what are projected to become the largest integrated petrochemical complexes in India. Foster Wheeler is in charge of handling engineering design, procurement, and construction management of an USD 800 million paraxylene process capable of producing 1.2 million metric tons per year.
Paraxylene will be produced utilizing technology procured from UOP Ltd Liability Co., which is a subsidiary of Honeywell International Inc. Once the plant itself is complete in 2012, it will be able to support not only a paraxylene process, but styrene and polypropylene processes as well. The complex also will produce some 10.5 million metric tons of refined petroleum products annually.
