Polibrasil to invest US$70mn in PP expansion

Brazilian petrochemicals company Polibrasil will invest US$70mn in doubling the capacity of a polypropylene (PP) plant at Camacari in Bahia state to 250,000 tonnes a year, Gazeta Mercantil reported. Polibrasil is owned by Brazilian group Suzano and the Basell joint venture of multinationals Basf and Shell. The expansion will use Basell's Lipp technology. The expansion depends on securing the raw material, propylene, which could come from Bahia plants belonging to petrochemicals group Braskem. Although Camacari is the preferred location, Polibrasil would locate its project elsewhere in Brazil if propylene supplies are not available in Bahia, company director Jose Ricardo Roriz Coelho said. The increased production would be mainly directed at Brazil's northeastern market, and surpluses would be exported. Polibrasil has 750,000t/y installed capacity and produces some 625,000t/y after it opened a US$217mn expansion of its Capuava plant in March.