Adani partners Adnoc, BASF, Borealis for £3.11bn chemical venture in India

INDIAN billionaire Gautam Adani-run Adani Group has signed a deal with UAE’s oil firm Adnoc, German chemical giant BASF, and Austria’s Borealis to study the feasibility of setting up a £3.11 billion chemical complex in the Indian state of Gujarat by 2024.

The four companies have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to “engage in a joint feasibility study to further evaluate a collaboration for the establishment of a chemical complex in Mundra, Gujarat,” according to a statement on Thursday (17).

This is the next step of BASF’s and Adani’s investment plans as announced in January 2019. With the inclusion of ADNOC and Borealis as potential partners, the parties are examining various structuring options for the chemical complex that will leverage the technical, financial and operational strengths of each company.

The total investment is estimated to be up to £3.11bn.

The partners aim to finalise the joint feasibility study by the end of first quarter of 2020.

Production is intended to commence in 2024.

The designated site is planned at Mundra port, and the products are predominantly for the Indian market, serving a wide range of local industries, including construction, automotive and coatings.

Adani stated: “We are very pleased to collaborate with our international partners to establish a chemical manufacturing complex at Mundra port. We stand committed to the ‘Make in India’ initiative and serve the larger purpose of aligning growth opportunities with creation of goodness for the nation.”

Alfred Stern, chief executive officer of Borealis, said: “This partnership is a unique opportunity to strengthen our PP presence in India with proprietary Borealis Borstar PP technology and to create value and tangible benefits through innovation for customers across multiple industries.”

The chemical complex in Mundra is intended to be entirely supplied from renewable energy resources.

The partners are evaluating co-investment in wind and solar park with the plans at an advanced stage of development. If realised, this would be the world’s first CO2-neutral petrochemical site to be fully powered by renewable energy, fully in line with the partners’ commitment to sustainability and energy efficiency.