Gujarat Refinery to expand LAB plant

VADODARA: Gujarat Refinery, the largest refinery owned by Indian Oil Corporation, is planning to augment capacity of its linear alkyl benzene ( LAB) plant to cater to growing industrial demand, a top executive said today.

The initial 1.2 lakh tpa capacity plant was commissioned in August 2004 with the investment of Rs 1,248 crore by the IOC.

"The capacity of this plant, which is largest in the country, will be raised by about 25,000 tonnes," said executive director Gautam Roy.

He said that IOC would expand the capacity of the plant to cater to the rising demand.

"The necessity for expansion of the plant arose as the Gujarat Refinery found it difficult to meet the domestic demand when it remained shut for short period some time ago," Roy said.

The plant has been producing superior quality LAB for making environment-friendly biodegradable detergents that marked the oil giant's foray into petrochemicals sector.

LAB produced by Gujarat Refinery is used for manufacturing detergents.