Reliance Industries Limited(RIL) has confirmed orders worth INR 228 Crores with Siemens Ltdto further expand the J3 Petrochemical Complex at Jamnagar, Gujarat. Siemens will be supplying steam turbine generation units to RIL refineries in Gujarat. The scope of this order includes designing, manufacturing, supplying and commissioning 4 of its SST-600 steam turbine generation units. These units are expected to be manufactured in the Siemens Ltd. factory at Vadodara.
J3 Petrochemical Complex
RIL’s J3complex comprises a petroleum refinery and other associated petrochemical plants. In addition to its crude oil refinery, this plant also manufactures various grades of fuel ranging between motor gasoline to Aviation Turbine Fuel. The petrochemical plants also produce plastic and fiber intermediates.
Created within a record time of 3 years, the Reliance refinery makes its mark through its superior product range. The complex is known to manufacture significant amounts of high-value products such as LPG and propylene. This adds to over 10% on crude processed as against 2-3% recorded by most other refineries. The refinery does not produce any low-value “black oils” as compared to other refineries, where 12-20% such fuel oils are produced on crude processed.
Expansion Plans
RIL’s refining and petrochemical complex has a manufacturing capacity of 1.24 million barrels per day. The company’s expansion plans came into the limelight in January this year, when it entered into a contract with the Indian division of the French firm Alstom T&D to provide power transformer packages.
In early 2012, RIL also entered into a contract with Fluor Corporation Pvt. Ltd. for its new petcoke gasification plant. At that time, RIL said that its facility would be one of the largest projects of its kind to have ever been built. The project was valued at about USD 4 billion. The contract included project management services, procurement and engineering services, supply of synthesis gas for plant fuel use and hydrogen as well as the expansion of the off-gas cracker and downstream petrochemical plant.
Besides, J3 is designed to increase its production capacity for ethylene as well as other petroleum-related products. In the third phase of its ongoing development, J3 intends to expand its ethylene cracker complex, gasification plants as well as the paraxylene plant. In April this year, RIL secured loans of about USD 550 million from a consortium of Japanese Banks to fund this expansion.
Enhanced Production Capacities
RIL had previously reported that expanding the refinery’s off-gas cracker would increase ethylene capacities by 1.365 tons per year (TPY). Similarly, capacities for propylene would increase by 154,000 TPY; monoethylene glycol by another 733,000 TPY and low-density polyethylene capacities by 400,000 TPY. The expansion plans are also expected to increase production capacities for high-density and linear low-density polyethylene as well as paraxylene.