Sinochem's Indian Oil Company (Indian Oil) recently stated that its board of directors has approved the construction of India's first styrene plant at the Panipat Refining and Chemical Plant in India
.
The planned production capacity is 387,000 tons/year
.
The project cost is about 44.
95 billion Indian rupees (about 604.
56 million U.
S.
dollars), and it is planned to be put into operation from 2026 to 2027
.
Indian Petroleum said that the current annual consumption of styrene in India is about 900,000 tons, and demand is expected to continue to grow in the next 15 to 20 years
.
However, India has no domestic styrene capacity, and its domestic demand is met by imports from Singapore, the Middle East and Southeast Asia
.
This has brought challenges to the downstream styrene-based resin industry in India
.
The project will greatly reduce India's import dependence and save about 500 million US dollars in foreign exchange each year
.
Brian Lee, executive director of IHS Markit Aromatics, said that the Middle East and Singapore have always been sources of styrene imports from India, but after China imposed anti-dumping duties on styrene from the United States and South Korea in 2018, exports from the United States and South Korea to India began to grow substantially
.
