Essar Chemicals inks MoU with French firm

Essar Chemicals Ltd, part of India's Essar Group, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Arkema, a leading French chemical company, to study the feasibility of a 50:50 joint venture in India for the production and commercialisation of acrylic acid and esters.

The proposed production plant is expected to come on stream in 2010.

The facility, which would be set up at Vadinar in Gujarat, would use propylene as feedstock from the recently commissioned Essar's refinery in Vadinar.

"This unit will be the first acrylic acid plant in India and would serve the fast growing acrylics market in this part of the world. Its location would be ideal to supply the products to both the Indian and Asian markets", said Henri Dugert, Group president of Arkema's Acrylics Business Unit.

Anshuman Ruia, director, Essar Group, said: "Essar Group is firmly on the path of expanding value chain in all its businesses and its entry into this business would further enhance the potential of Essar Oil's refinery from where main feedstock propylene will be supplied for the acrylic complex".

With this tie-up, Arkema, which had reported a revenue of 5.7 billion Euros in 2005, intends to extend its global operations in paints and coatings, super absorbents, water treatment, and paper and textile industries.