BASF partners with Adani to evaluate investment in acrylics value chain in Mundra

BASF and Adani Group signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the eve of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2019, to evaluate a major joint investment in the acrylics value chain. This would be BASF’s largest investment in India to date. According to the MoU, BASF and Adani want to establish a joint venture with an investment totalling about €2 billion (approximately `16,000 crore), in which BASF will hold the majority. The potential investment comprises the development, construction, and operation of production plants, including propane dehydrogenation (PDH), oxo C4 complex (butanols and 2-ethylhexanol), glacial acrylic acid (GAA), butyl acrylate (BA), and potentially other downstream products. The products, predominantly for the Indian market, will serve a wide range of local industries, including construction, automotive, and coatings. The designated site would be located at Mundra port in Gujarat and a feasibility study will be completed by the end of 2019. Speaking on this occasion, Gautam Adani, Chairman of the Adani Group, said, “India continues to be a very large importer of petrochemicals given the rapid expansion of the middle class, and this leads to a significant outflow of precious foreign exchange. Our partnership with BASF is a big step forward in enabling our country’s ‘Make in India’ programme, as this partnership will allow us to produce in Mundra several of the chemicals along the C3 chemical value chain. Mundra’s infrastructure is ideally suited to enable chemical production, and our ability to deliver renewable power makes this a unique partnership on several fronts.”