Nayara to invest Rs 600 crore in two ethanol plants

14 May 2024 , 11:27 AM

According to a top corporate official, Nayara Energy, backed by Russian oil giant Rosneft, intends to invest ₹600 crore to establish two ethanol producing units in the nation.

The daily production capacity of each plant will be 200 kiloliters of ethanol. They are scheduled to be operational by 2026 and will be located in Naidupeta, Andhra Pradesh, and Balaghat, Madhya Pradesh. Maize and broken rice will be used as feedstock by the enterprise. The company intends to eventually have five ethanol production facilities.

“On the ethanol front, we have tremendous aspirations. With a 20% ethanol blend requirement by 2025, our goal is to source 100% of our materials. In the long run, we want to have at least five ethanol facilities, but right now, we are building two,” Nayara Energy executive chairman Prasad Panicker stated.

In Vadinar, Gujarat, Nayara Energy operates an oil refinery with a capacity of 20 million metric tons; the company plans to develop a polypropylene unit in the same facility. The company is spending ₹6,000 crore to build a 450,000-ton-per-year petrochemical facility. In an effort to extend the refinery’s life and increase its dependability, it is also spending ₹4,000 crore on modernization. These expenditures will continue through 2026.

Nayara Energy holds a 7% share in petrochemicals and an 8% share in both the domestic fuel retailing and refining capacities of India.

“We have had fairly good growth in the last five to six years in our retail business, our expansion into petrochemicals, and running one of the most complex refineries,” stated Panicker. He also mentioned that the company intends to dramatically increase the number of fuel retail locations from 6,600 to 10,000 in three to four years.

According to Panicker, Nayara Energy’s goal is to meet domestic energy needs while simultaneously expanding its product line and taking the lead in the rapidly expanding petrochemical sector.

We have a lot of optimism on the India story. Whether it is used for jet fuel, automobile fuel, or any of these other petrochemicals, India needs oil,” the speaker stated.

The corporation is researching the possibility of going into the sustainable aviation fuel sector as part of its quest for clean fuels.

The corporation also feels positively about the sustainable aviation fuel market. “SAF is likely to be driven by policy and has strong economic appeal. If feedstock is accessible, we also want to be in the field. If not, it will be very expensive. You can always connect a SAF unit with the refinery,” Panicker said, adding that the business is researching the market to plan its approaches.

The technology is available to convert ethanol to SAF and spent cooking oil to SAF, which is a positive thing. However, considerable work needs to be done on these fronts,” he stated

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