IndianOil is calling for technology partnerships, joint ventures and time-bound projects with US companies as India seeks to build a more resilient and globally competitive speciality chemicals sector.
IndianOil Corporation is pushing for a closer India-US partnership in speciality chemicals, arguing that the next phase of growth in the sector will depend less on adding capacity alone and more on securing technology, strengthening supply chains and moving faster on execution.
Speaking at India Chem 2026, Saroj Kant Roy, the company’s executive director for aromatics and chemicals, said the two countries bring different strengths to the table: the United States has innovation and technical depth, while India offers scale, engineering capability, manufacturing expertise and a large and growing market. According to Indian Chemical News, Roy said those advantages could be combined to build a more competitive petrochemical base that serves domestic demand while also lifting India’s position in overseas markets.
The pitch comes at a moment when the industry is still dealing with the fallout from repeated supply shocks. Disruptions linked to the pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war and tensions in the Middle East have left chemical companies more aware of the risks in long, stretched-out supply chains. Roy argued that this makes diversification, flexibility and technology-led competitiveness more important than ever, particularly for firms trying to operate in a more volatile global environment.
The forum, held during the 14th edition of India Chem, brought together policymakers, multinational chemical groups, technology suppliers and industry leaders under a theme focused on building a globally competitive speciality chemicals ecosystem. Roy said the conversation should move beyond broad diplomatic language and into specific workstreams, including company-to-company partnerships, focused projects and time-bound feasibility studies that could deliver measurable commercial outcomes.
IndianOil’s argument also reflects its own expansion strategy. The company has been stepping up its petrochemicals push with greater emphasis on higher-value products, downstream integration and import substitution. ICIS reported earlier this year that its ₹138 billion Paradip paraxylene-purified terephthalic acid project in Odisha is nearing completion, with output expected to include 800,000 tonnes a year of paraxylene and 1.2 million tonnes a year of PTA. Business Standard also reported that Indian Oil plans to spend about ₹1 trillion on petrochemical projects over the next five to six years as it seeks to raise petrochemical intensity sharply.
Roy outlined a cooperation model he described as Build, Partner, Acquire and Co-innovate, or BPAC, under which Indian and American companies could work together through technology licensing, joint ventures, strategic investments, application development and more sustainable manufacturing. The broader implication, industry observers suggest, is that India’s chemicals sector is now being shaped as much by access to know-how and market linkages as by plant size alone. Indian Chemical News said that is central to the argument for deeper India-US ties, especially as India seeks to build a more resilient and globally competitive chemicals industry.
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