Indian Oil to form joint venture with TSRC and Marubeni

Indian Oil Corp. Ltd. (IOC), a petroleum products company, has entered into a joint venture with TSRC Corp. and Marubeni Corp. to set up a styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) unit at Panipat. IOC and the SBR unit are based in India. TSRC is a Taiwan-based manufacturer of synthetic rubber materials, while Marubeni is a Japan-based industrial conglomerate. With a capacity of 120,000 tons per annum, the SBR unit will utilize butadiene feed made available from IOC’s Panipat Naphtha Cracker Complex to produce synthetic rubber used in the manufacture of automotive tires, conveyors, fan belts, etc. IOC will own a 50% interest in the venture, while TSRC and Marubeni will hold a 30% and 20% stake, respectively. The project is targeted to be completed by September 2012 at an estimated cost of Rs9,000 million (US$197.5 million). (April 8, 2010)