RELIANCE Industries, India’s largest private company, and Russia-based Sibur, Eastern Europe’s largest petrochemical company, have firmed up the setting up of a US$450 million joint venture facility to produce 100,000 tonnes/ year of butyl rubber in Jamnagar, Gujarat, by 2014.
Both the companies made the announcement a few years ago and have now committed to moving this
forward.
Reliance Sibur Elastomers will be the first manufacturer of butyl rubber in India and the fourth largest supplier
of the polymer in the world. Reliance will have a 74.9% equity in the stake while Sibur will take up 25.1%. Both companies also signed a technology licence agreement facilitating use of Sibur’s proprietary butyl rubber technology.
Besides the ready availability of feedstock, Gujarat state is also where major automotive makers have confirmed setting up their plants and the new facility will cater to the growing demand for synthetic rubber in the country, pegged at 75,000 tonnes/year and currently satisfied by imports. Car sales in India rose 13% last year to 12.75 million units, helped by demand for two wheelers and commercial vehicles in the world’s second fastest-growing
economy.(PRA)
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