Assam to export methanol to Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan

Northeast Indian state Assam is all set to start exporting methanol to Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal from mid-April following the inauguration of the state-run  Assam Petrochemicals Ltd (APL) methanol plant.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, while addressing a press conference on Sunday (9 April), said the 700 TPD methanol plant at Namrup in Upper Assam's Dibrugarh district will be inaugurated virtually by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 14 April.

"There was no big investment in the public sector in Assam in the last decade. The APL is a big investment of the state government. In the last two or three years, our first big investment was in NRL. We increased the stake to 26% in NRL. The next investment is APL," the Chief Minister said.

Assam government will sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with an industrial group for an investment of Rs15,000 crore in the state, EastMojo reports.

APL Managing Director Rajnish Gogoi said, "The quantity of methanol to be exported can be ascertained only after signing the agreement. However, we are getting adequate requisition from Bangladesh for methanol."

"But the date from which we will start exporting will depend on the chief minister. We are seeking his appointment in this regard," said Bikul Chandra Deka, chairman of APL.

"The process of export of methanol would start via Dawki in Meghalaya to Sylleth district of Bangladesh by road. Later we will use water transport to send the consignments to Bangladesh," Deka further said.

A joint group comprising chemical importers from Bangladesh and APL officials already conducted a feasibility study.

Initially, the officials agreed to have a G2G (government to government) intervention for the certification of chemical products by an accredited laboratory acceptable to both countries. They also agreed to set up a lab testing facility for streamlining the chemical export process between the two countries in due course of time.

The officials agreed to have a G2G (government to government) intervention for the certification of chemical products by an accredited laboratory acceptable to both countries. They also agreed to set up a lab testing facility for streamlining the chemical export process between the two countries.

Apart from Bangladesh, we will also start exporting methanol to Bhutan and Nepal after the inauguration of the plant, Deka added.

APL, the first company in the country to set up a methanol plant using natural Gas as feedstock, is an Assam government undertaking with 51% shares of the company held by the Assam government and 49% of shares held by Oil India Limited (OIL), incorporated in April 1971.

At present, 100 TPD methanol and 125 TPD formalin plants located at Namrup are fully functional under the company.

APL initiated an expansion programme on October 3, 2017, for the installation of a 500 TPD methanol plant at Namrup and a 200 TPD formalin plant at Boitamari in Bongaigaon district at a project cost of Rs1,709 crores.

"The 500 TPD methanol plant at Namrup has been successfully installed and the trial runs have been conducted for raw methanol production with the lean natural gas (99% in methane) supplied by Oil India Limited from the gas fields in Assam and transported by Assam Gas Company Ltd (AGCL), another state PSU," said Bikul Chandra Deka.

"The 200 TPD formalin project is expected to be commissioned in November this year for which the feedstock will be the methanol produced from the 500 TPD methanol plant to be commissioned now," he said.

"The expansion project of 500 TPD methanol and 200 TPD formaldehyde plant at a total cost of Rs1,337 crore is almost complete and Assam can soon export these chemical products to Bangladesh," he added.