India's HMEL To Start Bathinda Cracker By March 2022

India's HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd (HMEL), part-owned by steel tycoon L N Mittal, plans to start its naphtha cracker at Bathinda refinery in northern Punjab state by the end of the March quarter of 2022, sources told Reuters on Tuesday.

The cracker at the 230,000 barrels-per-day (bpd) refinery will have an annual capacity of 1.2 million tonnes.

"We are trying our level best to get the cracker online by March 2022," an industry source familiar with the matter said.

State-run refiner Hindustan Petroleum Corp and Mittal Energy Investments Pvt Ltd own 49% stake each in the project.

Separately, another source said the cracker could start in April. HMEL did not respond to Reuters request for comment.