Reliance To Source Ethane From N America For Indian Petrochemical Plant

The company has executed storage and capacity agreements for liquefaction and export of ethane with a North American Terminal, which is expected to commence operations in the second half of 2016

Reliance Industries Ltd is planning to leverage its investment in shale gas assets in USA by bringing in ethane, one of the major product produced from shale gas, from North America to feed its petrochemical crackers in India.

“The shale gas industry, in North America has grown exponentially in the past 5 years. As a result ethane has become the dominant feedstock for crackers replacing liquids. Reliance’s investments in shale gas and its existing crackers portfolio in India are a natural fit for sourcing ethane from North America and shipping it to India to attain long term feedstock competitiveness,” said a Reliance Industries press release.

Reliance Industries is implementing a project to source 1.5 MMTPA of ethane from US to feed its crackers in India. The company has executed storage and capacity agreements for liquefaction and export of ethane with a North American Terminal, which is expected to commence operations in the second half of 2016.

For the purpose of transporting liquefied ethane to India in a safe and cost efficient manner, the company has ordered six state-of-the-art Very Large Ethane Carriers (VLECs) which will be the largest vessels ever built in the world. The ships are expected to be delivered starting last quarter of 2016 in synchronisation with the readiness of terminal in North America.

Reliance Industries is also building a world-scale receiving and storage facility in India for liquefied ethane and pipeline to deliver ethane to its crackers. The company will be upgrading its crackers to maximise cracking of ethane, have maximum operational flexibility and capability to optimise feed stocks with complete control of supply chain.

“The project will significantly improve the long term competitiveness of our cracker portfolio through dedicated feedstock, enhanced margins, higher capacity and end-to-end integration,” added the release.