Hindustan Organic Chemicals (HOCL) has stated that Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) has resumed the supply of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), enabling the company to initiate restart activities at its Kochi-based plants, as per the company’s filing with the exchanges.
In a disclosure to exchanges on April 20, the company said the resumption of LPG supply follows directions from the Government of India. With feedstock availability restored, “necessary plant restart activities/works has been initiated and is in progress,” the company said.
Restart follows weeks of disruption
The development comes after a series of shutdowns triggered by a disruption in LPG supply earlier in March. BPCL, which is the bulk LPG supplier to HOCL, had stopped supplies after the government directed public sector oil companies to prioritise LPG distribution for domestic consumers.
HOCL had first flagged the disruption on March 9, warning that reduced LPG availability would impact plant operations and could lead to shutdowns. The company said its buffer stock would be exhausted quickly, forcing a reduction in production load at the Phenol and Cumene units.
Sequential shutdown of plants
As the supply disruption continued, HOCL undertook a phased shutdown of its Kochi operations. The Cumene plant was shut from March 11, followed by the Phenol plant from March 14, with the company terming the situation a force majeure event arising from government directions.
The company had said LPG is the primary feedstock for its Phenol Complex, and any disruption directly affects plant operations. While these units were shut, the Hydrogen Peroxide plant continued to operate.
Awaiting clarity on production resumption
According to the filing, the company has not mentioned when the commercial production will resume. The Kochi unit is HOCL’s only manufacturing facility producing Phenol, Acetone and Hydrogen Peroxide, making the resumption of operations critical for its production cycle.