Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and French oil and gas major Total have formed a 50:50 joint venture to manufacture and market high-quality bitumen derivates, which will cater to the construction of roads across India. The JV will set up six new greenfield plants at IOC’s refineries at Panipat, Koyali, Haldia, Barauni, Visakhapatnam and Chennai, in the first four years, with an investment of Rs226 crore. The new JV will manufacture and market polymer-modified bitumen, crumb rubber-modified bitumen, bitumen emulsions and other specialty products.
“The operations of the JV will commence by taking over an existing plant of Total at Jodhpur,” says S.M. Vaidya, chairman, IOC, adding that it would cater to B2B customers involved in road infrastructure development in the government and private sector.
Bitumen is a common binder used in road construction. It is principally obtained as a residual product in petroleum refineries after higher fractions like gas, petrol, kerosene and diesel, etc, are removed. The Indian Standard Institution defines bitumen as a black or dark brown non-crystalline soil or viscous material having adhesive properties derived from petroleum crude either by natural or by refinery processes.
While IOC is the largest producer of bitumen in India, Total is a leading producer of bitumen in Europe. Earlier, the two had joint ventures in manufacturing LPG and fuel additives.
The JV will also explore the possibility of catering to other South Asian markets. General uses of bitumen include construction of roads, railways and platforms, water proofing, canal lining and tank foundation. In industries it is used in electrical cables and junction boxes, in battery manufacture as a sealing compound, in ceramics, and in the paint industry for manufacturing black paints and anti-corrosive paints.
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Bitumen is a common binder used in road construction
