Reliance-Sibur JV to set up halogenated butyl unit

Reliance Sibur Elastomers Private Limited (RSEPL), a joint venture between Russian gas and petrochemicals company Sibur and India’s Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), has announced plans to establish southern Asia’s first halogenated butyl rubber unit at RIL’s integrated petrochemical facility in Jamnagar, India. Halogenated butyl is a key ingredient in the manufacture of tubless tyre inner liners.

The unit will produce 60,000 tonnes of halogenated butyl rubber every year at a site near the joint venture’s 120,000 tonne per annum butyl rubber plant; this facility is currently under construction and will provide the halogenation unit with the butyl rubber feedstock it requires. Depending on market demand, up to half the butyl rubber plant’s total output will be used as feedstock.

Commenting on the halogenated butyl rubber unit, RIL executive director Nikhil Meswani said: “RSEPL’s halogenated butyl rubber plant will be well-poised to capitalise on the significant surge in regional demand in tyre and pharmaceutical industries. India is expected to see a quantum jump in tyre production, with Indian and international tyre majors gearing up to make capital investments of Rs. 15,000 crore (£1.8 billion). The halogenated butyl rubber demand is expected to grow at a rapid pace of eight to ten per cent CAGR over the next few years, driven by increasing customer preference for tubeless tyres in India and neighbouring countries, and significant investments in the manufacture of pharmaceutical closures and tank inner liners.”

“India offers attractive investment opportunities, given the growing local demand for synthetic rubbers and Gujarat’s favourable investment environment coupled with the well-developed infrastructure and raw material availability at a world-class Industrial site owned by RIL,” added Dmitry Konov, chairman of Sibur’s Management Board. “Sibur has a long track record of successful cooperation with RIL and Gujarat’s government, which has provided us with a solid basis for expanding our footprint in India.”

The butyl rubber plant is expected to be commissioned in 2018, and production from RSEPL will substitute imported materials.