GAIL State-owned gas utility India Ltd Its petrochemical plants have been shut down. Many petrochemical manufacturers have been forced to shut down their plants as demand evaporates and transportation is disrupted due to an unprecedented state blockade. Sources close to the matter said GAIL first, halved the capacity of its 401,000-tonne-a-year polyethylene plant at the Patta plant as trucks used to transport finished products to users stopped running soon after the blockade was imposed. 

However, the GAIL plant was closed last week as the polymers it was producing had filled up every nook and cranny of the warehouse, he said, adding that the company would continue to operate its LPG production unit at Patta to meet the country's cooking fuel demand. Polymer/polypropylene is widely used in textiles, packaging, stationery, plastics, aircraft, construction, ropes, toys and other industries.On March 25, the company shut down its 210,000-tonne per annum capacity HDPE/LLDPE swing unit. Following a nationwide lockdown from March 24 to April 14, several petrochemical plants in India were forced to close due to the outbreak. 

The coronavirus outbreak is spreading. The blockade led to the closure of plants such as the GAIL Pata plant, which utilizes the polymers produced at the plant to manufacture plastic products and packaging materials. In addition, petrochemical companies are facing a shortage of manpower due to the return of migrant workers. The blockade is also affecting trucking operations and hampering the transportation of finished products. Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd and Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd (HPL) have reduced production or closed plants by major producers in order to balance inventories and domestic demand. 

IOC's 800,000-tonne per annum cracker and HPL cracker in Panipat, Haryana, will be shut down due to lower demand Steam cracker and polymer unit were shut down, sources said. BPCL Kochi, Mumbai Refining related petrochemical plants have been reduced to less than one-third capacity. ONGC Petro Additions (OPAL) Utilization of Dahej High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) and Linear Low Density Polyethylene (LLDPE) production lines in Gujarat. Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL) has shut down its 4.4 billion tonne polypropylene (PP) plant at Mangalore. IOC has also shut down its 700 mt PP plant at Paradep in Orissa. It is not clear whether Reliance Industries has also reduced its operational capacity. 

Reliance Industries operates crackers and downstream units that produce xylene (PX), purified terephthalic acid (PTA), monoethylene glycol (MEG) and polymers. Officials are hopeful that even if the blockade is not completely lifted, petrochemical plants and other industries will be able to resume operations, as they produce materials used not only to package pharmaceuticals and medical devices, but also personal protective equipment personal protective equipment). It remains to be seen how quickly the factories will be able to resume production as logistics and transportation may take some time to return to normal operations due to the return of workers. Source: Torres India Newspapers