Indian  refining  and  petrochemicals giant Reliance Industries Ltd. has commissioned the first 

phase of a 2.2 million mt/year paraxylene plant at Jamnagar, the company said in a statement 

late Wednesday. 

The new plant will more than double RIL's PX production capacity to 4.2 million mt/year, makin

g RIL the world's second-largest PX producer with 9% of global PX capacity and 11% share of 

global production, the statement said. 

"Commissioning  of  the  new  PX  plant marks [the] beginning of the culmination of a series of 

projects including  the refinery off-gas cracker, ethane import project, and pet coke gasificatio

n," said Mukesh D. Ambani, chairman and managing director of RIL. 

These projects were part of the largest contemporary investment, in excess of Rupee 1 trillion 

($14.7 billion), in refining and petrochemicals sector anywhere in the world, he added. 

The  new  PX capacity  will complete the integration within RIL's polyester value chain and lead 

to an improvement in margins, as well as add value to output from RIL's refineries at Jamnagar 

in Gujarat state, according to the statement.