Braskem Idesa hails production milestone at Etileno XXI plant

Mexican petrochemical company Braskem Idesa has reached a milestone in polyethylene production, announcing it generated 3Mt of polyethylene at its Etileno XXI petrochemical complex (pictured). 

The US$5.2bn facility, located in Nanchital, Veracruz state, was built as a joint venture between Brazilian petrochemical firm Braskem and Mexican group Idesa, and started up polyethylene production in April 2016.

The cumulative production over this period represents significant import substitution and export generation, read the announcement, with an impact on the firm’s local currency holdings equivalent to US$3.4bn.

Braskem Idesa said the efforts also resulted in the launch of the first domestically high-density polyethylene resin (HDPE) into the Mexican market, part of the company’s green agenda. 

Brazil's Braskem said in its 3Q19 earnings conference call that the Mexican project was currently on a “fast track” to import more ethane with efforts underway by end-2019. 

To do so, Braskem Idesa is investing US$2.4mn in logistics infrastructure to import ethane from the US in order to allow its cracker to run at higher utilization rates.  

The fast track solution, said Braskem, consists in receiving liquid US ethane and then moving it by truck to the plant where it will be degasified for use in the production process.

Braskem Idesa has also said it would build an ethane import terminal in Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz. Although the project is still under discussion, it is expected to help solve the current ethane gas deficit, according to local media reports in September.

In November, the finance ministry further reported that the project would entail an investment of about 3.2bn pesos (US$170mn) and could be executed in 2020 once state oil company Pemex defines the use of the property.