December 18, 2019
The first-ever overseas deal to licence IndianOil's INDMAX refinery process technology for high propylene production was signed in Belgrade
IndianOil had developed INDMAX in-house to enhance refinery profit margins with high yields of LPG, light olefins and high-octane gasoline
The central government-run IndianOil currently exports products to over 70 countries and has stakes in exploration assets in 10 countries
Earlier this year, IndianOil had signed a long-term base oil purchase agreement with Abu Dhabi’s ADNOC to cater to a growing domestic market
Indian Oil Corp’s (IndianOil) leading INDMAX refining technology, with Lummus Technology Inc, USA, as the global licencing partner, has been selected through a global tender by M/s. Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS) of Serbia for the production of higher-value products. The first-ever overseas deal to licence IndianOil’s INDMAX refinery process technology for high propylene production was signed between NIS and Lummus in Belgrade, Serbia, the central government-run oil refiner, and seller, India’s largest, said on December 18. NIS is one of the largest oil and gas companies in Southeast Europe, with the Russian oil and gas conglomerate, Gazprom Neft, as its major shareholder.
This deal has opened up new avenues of market expansion for the Make in India product. The selection of INDMAX technology followed a due-diligence process involving demonstration of the credentials of the novel FCC (fluidised catalytic cracking) technology that is successfully operating at the 4.2-million tonne/annum INDMAX unit at IndianOil’s Paradip Refinery since December 2015. IndianOil’s R&D Centre developed INDMAX in-house to enhance refinery profit margins by achieving high yields of LPG, light olefins and high-octane gasoline from residual petroleum hydrocarbon streams and fractions.
The efficacy of the technology was first demonstrated by setting up a 100,000-tonne/annum unit at IndianOil’s Guwahati Refinery in the year 2003. This was followed by the mega INDMAX unit at Paradip Refinery, which placed IndianOil in the league of world-class refinery process licensors. A third INDMAX unit of 740,000-tonne/annum is under commissioning at IndianOil’s Bongaigaon Refinery. The company currently exports to over 70 countries and has stakes in exploration assets in 10 countries. Earlier this year, IndianOil had signed a long-term base oil purchase agreement with Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC), to cater to the rapidly-rising fuel demand in India.