RIL gains 4% as Jamnagar gasification unit to become wholly-owned subsidiary

NEW DELHI: Shares of Reliance Industries gained over 4 per cent in Thursday's session as the company’s board decided to implement a ‘Scheme of Arrangement’ to transfer its ‘Gasification’ undertaking into a wholly-owned subsidiary.

The counter rose to a high of Rs 2446.50 versus Rs 2350.90 at previous close on the BSE.

"The Gasification project at Jamnagar was set up with the objective to produce syngas to meet the energy requirements as refinery off-gases, which earlier served as fuel, were repurposed into feedstock for the Refinery Off Gas Cracker (ROGC). This enables production of olefins at competitive capital and operating costs. Syngas as a fuel ensures reliability of supply and helps reduce volatility in energy costs. Syngas is also used to produce Hydrogen for consumption in the Jamnagar refinery," the company said in a regulatory filing on Wednesday.

According to the statement, the repurposing of gasification assets would help use of syngas as a reliable source of feedstock for the production of chemicals and cater to the growing domestic demand, thus leading to an attractive business opportunity.

The scheme will enable RIL to evaluate unlocking the value of syngas, with a collaborative and asset-light approach involving the induction of investors in the gasifier subsidiary and capturing value of upgradation in RIL through partnerships in different chemical streams, reports said.

Shares of Reliance have witnessed considerable volatility this week after the company scrapped a proposal to sell 20 per cent stake in its oil-to-chemicals business to Saudi Aramco, for which the asking price was $15 billion.

After losing 4 per cent on Monday – a price action which eroded around Rs 66,000 crore in market value – Reliance’s shares had tumbled 2 per cent further on Tuesday and then almost 1.5 per cent on Wednesday.