India’s Nayara Energy, owned 49.13% by Russian oil giant Rosneft, is planning to invest $850 million to expand its Vadinar refinery in Gujarat and build a petrochemical complex.

A first phase would see the construction of a 450,000 t/y propylene recovery facility, a 450,000 t/y PP plant and a 200,000 t/y methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE) unit. The company is currently carrying out an economic evaluation of the project and a final decision to proceed will be made during 2019.

“The planned investment is basically a diversification into the petrochemical business,” explained Nayara’s CEO B Anand, adding that the complex is scheduled for completion in 2022.

Global trading group Trafigura and Russia’s UCP Investment together also own 49.13% of Nayara Energy, which was formerly known as Essar Oil. Rosneft together with a consortium led by Trafigura and UCP acquired the company from Essar Energy Holdings and its affiliates in August 2017, paying $12.9 billion.