India's Assam Petrochemicals plans methanol, acetic acid plants by end 2014

India's Assam Petrochemicals plans to build a 500,000 mt/year methanol and a 200,000 mt/year downstream acetic acid plant in Namrup, in northeastern India's Assam state by the end of 2014, a source close to the company confirmed Friday.

The methanol will be produced with natural gas from Assam.

In the long term, the company also hopes to build further downstream plants at the site, although concrete plans had not been finalized yet.

The company is also considering building plants for vinyl acetate monomer, polyvinyl acetate, and polyvinyl alcohol to use the AA.

And it is mulling dimethyl ether and biodiesel plants to use the methanol.

Assam Petrochemical is majority owned by the Assam state-government and currently has in Namrup a small methanol plant with a capacity of 33,000 mt/year and a downstream formaldehyde plant, also with a capacity of 33,000 mt/year.