ONGC Petro additions Ltd., the Indian petrochemicals maker circled by potential suitors from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, wants to turn its focus away from exports and tap India’s growing appetite for plastics.

ONGC Petro additions, also called OPaL, plans to exit a program that mandates shipping products overseas from a unit located in a special economic zone. It plans to sell in the domestic market from the facility in the western Indian state of Gujarat after paying the applicable local taxes.

“Now we are seeing that demand is higher in India and so are the margins,” said Subhash Kumar, a director on its board. “We are moving a proposal for exiting from the special economic zone.”

India’s infrastructure push and rising income has fueled demand for chemicals and products like plastic and fiber. Refiners from Reliance Industries Ltd. to Indian Oil Corp. are spending billions of dollars to expand capacities for petrochemical, a segment that will account for about half of the crude oil use by 2050.

Export Unit

OPaL, located at Dahej, is an export-focused unit that makes building blocks for plastics used for packaging, containers and components of automobiles. While the trade war has dampened demand from the key Chinese and the U.S. markets, India’s consumption is expected to grow substantially.

Demand in India is likely to expand by 6%-8.5% over the next two years, OPaL said in its annual report for the year ended March.

“OPaL is doing very well and is close to achieving 100% operating rate,” said Kumar, who is the finance director of India’s biggest explorer Oil & Natural Gas Corp. that founded the joint venture. “Last year, it operated at about 70% of capacity.” OPaL’s 300 billion-rupee petrochemical project is a dual-feed cracker with a capacity to produce 1.1 million tons a year of ethylene and 400,000 tons of propylene, according to its website.

ONGC, which owns the biggest stake in OPaL, may also buy out the remaining stake and either merge with self or list the shares on exchanges, in case it’s unable to find a strategic partner. This will also help improve the financial performance of the company saddled by debt of about $4 billion.

Saudi Aramco and Kuwait Petroleum Corp. have been in discussions for buying into OPaL since 2014.

“Once you convert it into subsidiary, we will look at other options whether to do an IPO or to merge it,” Kumar said. “We would have some clarity before the end of this year,” he said. ONGC held 49.36% in OPaL on March 31, with state utility GAIL India Ltd. owning 49.21% and Gujarat State Petroleum Corp. 1.43%.