Calcutta, Feb. 23: Indian Petrochemical Corporation (IPCL) is exploring possibilities of setting up a fourth plant on the east coast to raise its overall capacity following Reliance’s recent gas finds in the Godavari basin. The evaluation process for a capacity expansion through brownfield or greenfield projects is currently on, a senior company official said.

“The company expects the demand for petrochemicals products, especially in India, to increase and hopes to meet this rise by expanding its manufacturing capacity or setting up new plants,” he said.

J. B. Kamat, senior executive vice-president (marketing) at IPCL, however, refused to comment on the issue.

“We are looking at various possibilities. The kind of gas we find on the east coast is important. The gas should be suited for petrochemicals. There will be thorough evaluation before we take a final decision on the new plant,” he said.

IPCL, in which Reliance holds a 46 per cent stake, has decided to invest around Rs 350 crore to raise capacity at its three existing plants in Vadodara, Nagothane and Gandhar.

While the Vadodara plant is naphtha-based, the other two plants in Nagothane and Gandhar are gas-based.

The gas required for the two plants is currently being supplied by Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Gail. However, feedstock and fuel supplied by these two state-run companies to Indian Petrochemical have always been below the amount allocated by the government, officials said.