Pics: Spoorthi Ullal
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (CLP)
Mangaluru, Jun 25: "The annual demand for polypropylene in south India is 5 lac tonnes, and MRPL can meet the demand of the region," said Prahlad Joshi, chairman of the standing committee on petroleum and natural gas.
He was addressing a press meet at MRPL here on Thursday June 25, after the first parcel of 'Mangpol', MRPL's polypropylene pearls was dispatched to the distributor in Bengaluru.
Polypropylene pellets are obtained from propylene produced at the refinery when processing crude oil. It is for making laboratory equipment, currency notes, loud speakers, stationery items, plastic ropes and bags, parts of motor vehicles and a number of other items.
Addressing the media Prahlad Joshi said, "The demand for polypropylene in India has risen from 15.3 lac tonnes to 30.7 lac tonnes per annum. India is importing 14% of total requirement from foriegn countries. MRPL has taken the initiative to produce the polypropylene and is contributing to making 'Make in India' initiative successful. The annual demand for polypropylene in south India is 5 lac tonnes, and MRPL can meet the demand of the region."
"Arrangement for marketing is done. Nine distributors have been appointed throughout the country and today 500 tonnes of polypropylene worth Rs 4 crore has been dispatched. I am very happy and congratulate MRPL on the good start. Earlier Naphtha was used to produce polypropylene but now MRPL is producing it through gas. The technology has also been upgraded to provide a quality product. Polypropylene produced through gas reduces the cost of production and also saves on foriegn exchange. The credit for upgrading the technology has to be given to the officials and the staff of MRPL," he added.
"India is import dependent upto 70% for crude oil products. The total revenue of the country is Rs 11,60,000 crore and Rs 3,60,000 crore is spent on energy. Nearly 25%-30% of the budget is spent on energy. Now MRPL is trying to contribute to the PM's call to reduce the import dependency upto 10% by the year 2022. I wish all success to MRPL," he concluded.
H Kumar, managing director of MRPL and M Venkatesh, director, and others were present at the occasion.