Mumbai: Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) Thursday said it has commissioned the first phase of its para-xylene (PX) plant at Jamnagar in Gujarat. The 2.2 million metric tonnes per annum plant is built with technology from BP, its partner in the D6 block of the Krishna Godavari basin on the east coast.

“Commissioning of the new PX plant marks beginning of the culmination of a series of projects including the refinery off-gas cracker, ethane import project and petcoke gasification. These projects are part of the largest contemporary investment, in excess of Rs. 100,000 crore, in refining and petrochemicals sector anywhere in the world,” said Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director, RIL.

The new PX capacity takes RIL a step closer to being among the top 10 petrochemical players globally, added Ambani.

With the commissioning of this plant, RIL’s PX capacity will more than double from 2.0 MMTPA to 4.2 MMTPA. On commissioning of entire PX capacity, Reliance will be the world’s second largest PX producer with 9% of global PX capacity and 11% share of global production, RIL said.

The new PX capacity will add value to the output from refineries and is expected to improve the profitability of the Jamnagar complex.

PX is the building block for the entire polyester chain. The new capacity will complete the integration within Reliance’s polyester value chain, leading to improved margins and also strengthen its position in polyester industry globally.