Ashwin Muthiah-led Tamilnadu Petroproducts Ltd (TPL) has revised the project cost for expanding its Linear Alkyl Benzene (LAB) plant and Heavy Chemicals Division (HCD) plant by ₹78 crore due to cost escalation.
In a regulatory filing, the company said the cost of expanding the LAB plant has been revised to ₹365 crore from ₹310 crore, while the HCD plant expansion cost has been increased to ₹237 crore from ₹214 crore. The revision reflects foreign exchange fluctuations and other incidental factors arising from the passage of time.
On December 11, 2025, TPL announced the expansion of its LAB plant capacity from 1.20 lakh tonnes per annum to 1.45 lakh tonnes per annum, a project that is now in the final stages of completion.
To augment capacity and complete related expansion work, the company has shut down its LAB plant for about eight to nine weeks. The HCD plant resumed operations on March 6, 2026.
TPL also said it plans to set up two downstream units in the HCD plant at an estimated cost of ₹90 crore. These units are expected to be completed within 18 months after receiving the required regulatory and other approvals.
Funding for the projects will be met through internal accruals and borrowings, depending on business conditions at the time of implementation.
TPL is among the country’s leading manufacturers of Linear Alkyl Benzene, caustic soda and propylene oxide.
LAB is widely used in the manufacture of detergents and also serves as a solvent and binder in specialty products such as cable oil, ink, paint and insulation materials.
Caustic soda is used extensively in industries including textiles, pulp and paper, aluminium, and soaps and detergents. Propylene oxide, which TPL began producing in 2018–19, is a key feedstock for polyols and other petrochemicals.
The company also markets chlorine, a co-product of caustic soda, which is used in applications such as vinyl chloride, chlorinated paraffin wax, pulp and paper processing, water purification and chlorinated solvents.