JAMNAGAR, India (Feb. 25, 2013) — Reliance Sibur Elastomers Pvt. Ltd., a joint venture between Reliance Industries Ltd. of India and Russian petrochemical firm Sibur, has begun construction of a $450 million butyl rubber plant in Jamnagar.
When commissioned in 2015, the plant will be India's only manufacturer of butyl rubber and the joint venture will be among the world's top five producers of butyl rubber, Reliance said, with annual capacity of 100,000 metric tons.
The plant will use Sibur's proprietary butyl rubber production technology and use monomers supplied by Reliance Industries. Butyl rubber offers heightened air impermeability properties vs. other elastomers and is therefore used in tire innnerliners and inner tubes.
Reliance and Sibur formed the venture in February 2012; Reliance owns 74.9 percent and Sibur 25.1 percent of Reliance Elastomers.
Nikhil Meswani, executive director, Reliance Industries, called India a "fast emerging auto hub" that makes it a "vast market" for butyl rubber.