Assam Petro-Chemicals to Complete Methanol and Formaldehyde Units by Jan-2021

As per the recent announcement by a company official, state-owned Assam Petro-Chemicals Ltd. (APL) will complete the final commissioning of its Methanol and Formaldehyde plants by January 2021. The 500 tonne per day (TPD) Methanol unit and the 200 TPD Formaldehyde unit at Namrup in Dibrugarh, Assam are being constructed by the company to not only cater to the domestic fuel market but also to export to the neighboring countries.

Due to consistent surge in the domestic Methanol demand, the company had commenced construction of the plant in October 2017 at an estimated capital of INR 1,709 crore. Looking at the vast opportunity that the Methanol fuels sector holds globally, the company is also planning to export the product to Nepal and Bhutan. Moreover, the company is cautiously preparing itself to penetrate Bangladesh’s Methanol market where, due to some government regulations it had stopped the fuel export few years back. In the semi-governmental petrochemicals company, the Assam government holds 51.23 per cent stake while Oil India Ltd. holds 48.68 per cent and others have 0.09 per cent share. As mentioned by the company’s managing director Atul Chandra Barman, Oil India has contributed a sum of INR 303 crore for the project, while the Assam government has provided INR 232 crore in addition to INR 50 crore provide by Assam Industrial Development Corporation and INR 36 crore by the Assam Gas Company.

As per ChemAnalyst,” Imports from Middle East account for more than 75 per cent of total Methanol consumed in India. India’s Methanol demand, which now stands at around 5-6 lakh tpy, is likely to witness a sharp spurt in the coming years with the Indian government’s proposed fuel-blending targets and the recent “Atmanirbhar Bharat" move. This strategic investment will enable APL to expand its horizons, not only in India but also in other neighboring countries importing Methanol in huge volumes.”