Committed To Develop Sustainable-agri Business In India': Borouge
The Indian-arm of Abu Dhabi-based Borouge PTE produces two groups of polyolefins – polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) both for Consumer and Infrastructure applications. Rainer Hoefling, CEO, Borouge PTE was in India recently. He talks to BW Businessworld's Ashish Sinha about his company's India focus and some of the ongoing projects. Excerpts:
Please share with us briefly the India journey of Borouge?
Established in 1998, Borouge is a leading petrochemicals company that provides innovative polyolefin solutions for the energy, infrastructure, mobility, advanced packaging, healthcare and agriculture industries. Based in Abu Dhabi, UAE with a Sales and Marketing headquarter in Singapore, Borouge’s presence spans across the Middle East, Asia Pacific, and Africa.
How long have you operated in India?
Borouge has been established in India for 25 years. India, with its favourable demographics and economic growth prospects, is one of the most attractive polyolefin markets in the world. The country has been an important and strategic market for Borouge since the commencement of operations of our “Borouge 1” polyethylene plant in 2002 in the UAE. From inception, many partnerships with polyolefin converters in India have been established, and many Indian nationals have contributed to shaping Borouge into a leading international business.
How is the India PE and PP market shaping?
India's Polyethylene (PE) market was sized around 7.2 MT annually in 2022, with a forecast annual growth rate of 8 per cent by 2026. In 2022, the total import for PE is estimated at 1.8 MT and is forecasted to increase 2.9 MT by 2026. India's Polypropylene (PP) market was pegged at around 7 MT annually in 2022, with a forecast annual growth rate of 8.4 per cent by 2026. In 2022, the total import for PP is estimated at 1.4 MT and is forecasted to increase 2.7 MT by 2026
What was your financial performance in the last fiscal year?
In 2022, Borouge Plc delivered a full year revenue of $6,727 million, with a strong 15 per cent growth in sales volumes resulting in an 8 per cent revenue growth. Asia Pacific continues to be our largest sales market, contributing 63 per cent of total revenue for the year 2022. Activity in Borouge’s core Asia Pacific and Middle East markets remains stronger than in developed markets, with economic growth rates ahead of developed economies. Therefore, we expect stable polyolefin demand growth in our core territories and sales volumes returning to levels equivalent to production volumes.
What are the innovative solutions you provide?
Borouge produces two groups of polyolefins – polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) both for Consumer and Infrastructure applications. Our consumer solutions are used in applications such as sustainable packaging, mono-material solutions or greenhouse films used in agriculture. In these segments, we generated a sales volume of 2.5 million tonnes (MT) in 2021 (as of 2022, consumer solution contributed 48 per cent by revenue). The global market for polyolefin consumer solutions is expected to grow by 1.2x GDP. On the other hand, our infrastructure solutions are materials used to manufacture products for infrastructure solutions such as pipes and fittings, water solutions and cables for power transmission. Here we generated sales volume of 1.7 MT in 2021 (as of 2022, infrastructure solution contributed 46 per cent by revenue).
What are some of your ongoing projects in India?
Greenhouse project in Jaipur, Rajasthan: Borouge recently celebrated the completion of 900 greenhouses in Jaipur, Rajasthan in December 2022, in a collaboration with value chain partners to provide agriculture films using Borouge’s Borstar® FB1200, a bimodal polyethylene designed for the agriculture industry. The successful greenhouse trial project occupies three million square metres at the Baseri Village in Jaipur and has helped farmers shorten their crop cycles whilst improving crop quality and yield. Borouge’s differentiated and innovative suite of agriculture solutions has enabled precision farming to improve productivity, and hence the livelihoods of farmers. We are committed to developing our agriculture business in India, whilst also ensuring we are providing sustainable solutions for India’s farming community, where agriculture is the primary source of income for majority of the population.
Navi Mumbai Airport: One example of Borouge’s solutions for the energy sector in India is the supply of materials to produce 58.7 kilometers of 220kV high voltage cables for Navi Mumbai Airport. Our Borlink™ LS4201S was selected for insulating the cables and the semiconductive compound, while Borlink™ LE0592S was chosen for its thermal stability. The cable systems act as the backbone of the electrical infrastructure at this new international airport.
Jal Jeevan Mission: The Mission envisions to provide safe and adequate drinking water through supplying 55 litres of water per person per day via individual household tap connections to every household in rural India by 2024. The project uses mainly high-density polyethylene pipes in distribution network, where Borouge PE100 black has been used in huge quantities in this water infrastructure project.
Urja Ganga Pipeline (Cross Country Gas Pipeline): Another example of our solutions for the infrastructure sector is the Urja Ganga Gas Pipeline project, which connects eastern India to the National Gas Grid. It is the largest cross country gas pipeline in India. 2,655 kilometers of steel pipes with 900 millimeters diameter, coated with Borouge’s 3-layer polyethylene (3LPE) material, were used to connect the region to new LNG terminals and City Gas Distribution projects.
SAUNI (Cross Country Irrigation Pipeline): The Saurashtra Narmada Avtaran Irrigation (SAUNI) project by the Indian government aims to fill 115 major dams by diverting floodwaters from the Sardar Sarovar Dam across the Narmada river to drought-prone areas. This project has used over 2,000 kilometers of 2- to 3-meters diameter steel pipeline with Borouge’s 3LPE coating. It has helped drought-prone areas to be well irrigated.
Can you expand on some of the India-centric solutions that Borouge is providing?
Agriculture: Borouge is focusing extensively on promoting sustainable and innovative farming solutions. We are working with many value chain stakeholders including universities, R&D companies, government agencies and progressive commercial farmers to promote our innovative solutions that contribute towards food sustainability. We focus on innovative solutions in greenhouse films, crop cover films, pond and aqua culture liners, mulch films and drip irrigation. We are also exploring new ways for sustainable farming practices, including Agriculture Technology and Vertical Farming.
Infrastructure: By offering more durable and reliable pipe solutions, we continue to boost the sustainability of pipe networks by making them safer, longer lasting and more efficient. This helps eliminate wastage and loss whilst at the same time offering energy savings. Our solutions enable pipe networks for water and gas to serve the community at large.
Energy: We are surrounded by energy as it is transported through cables in buildings, streets, underground, overhead and at the bottom of waterways and seas. Given the crucial function of cables and the challenge of installing them, safety, reliability, and longevity are extremely important. Through our solutions, we want to ensure that communities have access to affordable energy sources.
Circular Economy: Collaboration with the entire packaging value chain, including brand owners, converters, machine suppliers and material suppliers, will be crucial to driving the industry on developing sustainable solutions moving forward. With the significant developments in the recycling industry to produce recycled polyolefins, such recyclates can be channelled back into making new products, reducing overall polyolefin wastage.
