Indian Oil Corp on Thursday started a naphtha cracker, its first such plant at Panipat refinery, its director for refineries said, a move which will help IOC make value-added products from surplus naphtha.

Naphtha exports by the state-run refiners have increased since Reliance Industries began pumping gas from its deepwater field in India's east coast, triggering power and fertiliser firm's to switch to cheaper fuel. "Feed cutting began today. First on-spec product will be out in four to five days and it will take 15-20 days to commission most of the downstream polymer units," IOC's Director for refineries B N Bankapur told Reuters.

The cracker would require 200,000 tonnes of naphtha at full capacity every month. The naphtha would be sourced from IOC's Koyali plant in western India and Panipat and Mathura refineries in north, Bankapur said.

The naphtha cracker, which is capable of producing 800,000 tonne of ethylene and 600,000 tonne of poly propylene annually, will initially run at about 60 percent capacity, he added.

"Stabilisation and ramping up the throughput may take three to four months," Bankapur said.

IOC is India's biggest state-run refiner and operates about 10 refineries across the country with a total capacity of more than 1.2 million bpd.

Source: Money control