Indorama’s 86,000MT Petrochemical Plant Begins Production Soon (March 20th, 2012)

Nigeria’s aspiration to become a hub for the petrochemical industry is becoming a reality as a newpetrochemical production plant built by Indorama Group, the core investor in the Eleme Petrochemicals plant, has been slated for inauguration in May this year. The massive plant, which willproduce Poly-Ethylene Terephthalate - a major raw material for automobiles, pharmaceutical andtextiles industries, was built at a cost of $300 million.

The company said the plant, with a capacity to produce 86,000 metric tonnes per annum of Poly- Ethylene Terephthalate, is one of the three new projects Indorama is pumping a total $2.1 billion investment in the Eleme Petrochemical plant. Two other projects, methanol and a fertiliser plants, thecompany would cost the group $1.8 billion."The Poly-Ethylene Terephthalate plant will come on stream between April and May, 2012 when allregulatory procedures have been completed," Indorama spokesman was quoted to have said.

"Production will serve all local demands first before any exports," the spokesman said, adding thatAfrica's top energy producer would be able to save a lot of foreign exchange it expended on importingthe raw material.Indorama bought into the Eleme Petrochemicals, a former subsidiary of the state-oil companyNigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNP) for $400 million when it was privatised in 2006. TheEleme plant currently produces polyethylene and polypropylene, with production capacity of240,000MT/year and 95,000MT/year, respectively.

Minister of Trade and Investment, OlusegunAganga, who was thrilled by Indorama's investment plansin the Eleme plant, said in February that Nigeria would have the second-largest petrochemical facilityin Africa. Agagu had explained that for years, Nigeria- the seventh largest producer of crude oilworldwide and well-endowed with abundant natural gas, had neglected this key sector that had servedas the catalyst in the transformation of the economies of countries such as Qatar, China, South Koreaand Singapore.The minister said that the country's abundant oil and gas reserves offered her another opportunity todevelop a strong petrochemical industry.

The minister had noted that IEPL, since its privatization through which Indorama invested $575 million, had generated dividends worth N45 billion to both theFederal and Rivers State governments, adding that the company had also paid taxes close to about N16 billion.