The latest addition to the RIL’s petrochemicals portfolio is the world’s first ever and largest Refinery Off-Gas Cracker (ROGC) complex of 1.5 MMTPA capacity. The ROGC complex is a core component of RIL’s most innovative and world-scale J3 project at its integrated Refinery-Petrochemicals complex at Jamnagar. With the commissioning of ROGC complex, the largest ever expansion of RIL’s petrochemicals portfolio comes to a flawless completion. Jamnagar already has a capacity to process 60 million tonne of crude oil a year, making it the biggest refining complex in the world. The shares of RIL closed at Rs 911.50 at NSE up by 0.19 percent on Tuesday.

About the innovative design

This is one of the largest capital expenditure programme globally in the sector in recent times. The ROGC complex has a unique configuration as it uses off-gases from RIL’s two refineries at Jamnagar as feedstock. This innovative approach of integration with refineries provides a sustainable cost advantage, making ROGC competitive with respect to the crackers in Middle-East and North America which have feedstock cost advantage. ROGC is the latest addition to RIL’s existing cracker portfolio, consisting of cracker facilities at Nagothane in Maharashtra and Hazira, Dahej and Vadodara in Gujarat.

While commenting on this path-breaking accomplishment, Mr. Mukesh D. Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director, Reliance Industries Limited said: “The world’s first ROGC and downstream plants marks a paradigm shift in the profitability and sustainability of RIL’s petrochemicals business. The ROGC complex is built on our core philosophy of deep feedstock integration to establish industry leading cost and efficiency benchmarks. This world-scale petrochemicals expansion, once again showcases RIL’s unique competitive advantage in efficient execution of complex projects and flawless commissioning capabilities, adding yet another jewel to its crown. This is a fitting tribute to RIL’s visionary Founder Chairman Shri Dhirubhai H. Ambani”.

Competitive and flexible cracker portfolio

There are nearly 270 Ethylene plants globally with a combined capacity of over 170 MMTPA. RIL’s combined ethylene capacity is now close to 4 MMTPA at five of its manufacturing sites. With ROGC and imported Ethane, RIL has one of the most competitive and flexible cracker portfolio. In 2017, RIL had commissioned a new Para-xylene (PX) plant at Jamnagar, with an aim to more than double the company’s PX capacity from 2.0 MMTPA to 4.2 MMTPA. The plant, with a capacity of 2.2 MMTPA, added value to the output from refineries and improve profitability of the Jamnagar complex.

Market outlook for Reliance Industries in 2018

India’s most valued company by market capitalization, shares of Reliance Industries returned more than 72 percent in 2017. The rate cut by India’s telecom regulator TRAI has led global research and brokerage firms such as CLSA, Goldman Sachs and Bank of America cheering for Reliance Industries, even as the stock trades at near all-time high levels. In its latest report, CLSA has maintained a buy call on the stock with a target price of Rs 1,050.