INTERVIEW: India's Adperma evaluates downstream phenol-acetone projects

India's Adperma is evaluating multiple downstream chemical projects based on its new phenol-acetone complex, with the options currently at the research and development stage and an announcement potentially coming in a year, CFO Debnath Mukhopadhyay told Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, in an interview Oct. 16.

No specific downstream project has been finalized, Mukhopadhyay said.

Asked about potential expansion into products such as bisphenol-A and polycarbonate, Mukhopadhyay said the company was evaluating several options. "Based on that, we'll strategize," he said, adding that an announcement on further downstream projects could potentially come in about a year.

The downstream plans would build on Adperma's new Haldia, West Bengal, facility, which has a nameplate capacity of 345,000 metric tons/year of phenol and 215,000 mt/y of acetone.

Adperma Private Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd., inaugurated India's largest integrated phenol and acetone manufacturing plant at Haldia, West Bengal on Oct. 14, Platts reported Oct. 15.

Mechanical completion has been achieved and commissioning activities are underway, with commercial production planned in the fourth quarter of the current financial year, Mukhopadhyay said.

Over the next three to five years, the group aims to develop a more integrated chemicals business around its phenol and acetone production, Mukhopadhyay said.

"It will be one of India's largest integrated chemical hubs ... over a period of time," he said.

Adperma was established to develop an integrated specialty chemicals platform leveraging HPL's existing petrochemical manufacturing ecosystem, according to information on the company's website.

Seed marketing of phenol, acetone

Ahead of commercial production, Adperma has been building a domestic customer base through seed marketing of imported phenol and acetone.

The company imported around 10,000-15,000 mt of the products for seed marketing in September, Mukhopadhyay said. Volumes have increased since the program began in August, following a strong customer response, he added.

Adperma plans to use a combination of term contracts and spot sales, depending on market opportunities, once its own production begins, Mukhopadhyay said.

The company intends to serve customers across India.

Phenol demand will primarily come from sectors including phenolic resins, laminates and pharmaceuticals, Mukhopadhyay said.

Laminate-related demand is concentrated largely in northern and eastern India, while pharmaceutical demand has a stronger presence in southern India, he added.

Import substitution, exports in focus

Adperma sees India's dependence on imported phenol and acetone as an opportunity for its new production, although the company has not set a fixed target for the proportion of imports it expects to replace.

India currently imports around 250,000-300,000 mt/year of phenol and about 200,000 mt/year of acetone, according to Mukhopadhyay.

"The target is to address the market that is there today in [the] imported market," he said.

Adperma plans to build domestic market share depending on prices, realizations and margins while retaining flexibility to direct output toward overseas markets, Mukhopadhyay said.

The company has not set a fixed split between domestic and export sales, with allocations expected to vary according to market conditions.

The broader objective would be to maximize plant utilization and place volumes in the markets offering suitable commercial opportunities, Mukhopadhyay said.

Adperma is targeting Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa as potential export markets, he said.

The company expects to leverage Haldia Petrochemicals' existing export channels, including Singapore-based group company HPL Global, to market material internationally.

"We have a lot of bigger reach through HPL Global," Mukhopadhyay said.

Adperma's sales strategy will comprise direct customer sales, sales through distributors and exports. The company has nine distributors across India, although they will not handle its entire domestic sales volume, Mukhopadhyay said.

HPL to supply all propylene, majority of benzene

Adperma expects the plant's annual benzene requirement to be around 300,000 mt, with roughly 60% expected to be supplied internally by parent Haldia Petrochemicals, Mukhopadhyay said.

The remaining 40% could be sourced from domestic or international markets, depending on pricing, he said.

Adperma has already secured contracts for some benzene supplies, although Mukhopadhyay declined to disclose the counterparties.

The plant's annual propylene requirement is expected to be around 165,000 mt, with Haldia Petrochemicals expected to supply the entire requirement, Mukhopadhyay said.

Adperma plans to keep its domestic phenol and acetone pricing market-driven while seeking to optimize production costs and margins, he added.