Venezuela Pequiven aims to triple output by 2013

01 November 2007 19:00  [Source: ICIS news]

CARACAS (ICIS News)--Venezuelan state-run petrochemical producer Pequiven plans to triple production by 2013 in order to become a world-class exporter, according to official state media reports on Thursday.

"We're hoping to open the doors to the world and attract investment to the transformer sector," said company director Francisco Toro in a Spanish-language statement.

The announcement, which shed light on vague plans about a “petrochemical revolution” announced previously by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, is to raise output to 32m tonnes/year from 11m tonnes/year with a total investment of $20bn (€13.8bn).

Pequiven plans to build six new petrochemical plants around the country to boost petrochemical production and hopefully attract foreign investment in local transformers of thermoplastic resins.

Of the 32 million tonnes of projected production, about 5.4 million tonnes would consist of plastic resins, according to local press reports.

"By 2013, Pequiven will be among the top ten [petrochemical companies] in the world," Toro said, according to a company release.

Toro said six new plants would supplement Venezuela's three existing plants at Moron, Jose and El Tablazo. The company expects to build a petrochemical plant at Paraguana, the largest oil refining complex in the world. A fertilizer plant is in the works at Navay that would exploit nearby phosphorous production.

Other planned sites include Puerto de Nutrias, Barrancas and Guiria, which would use offshore natural gas that's not yet in production as feedstock.

Recently, Pequiven has been dogged by reports that it's unable to fulfill surging local demand for plastic resins.

Unable to postpone badly needed maintenance work at its existing plants, Pequiven stopped exporting this year and had to rely on large-scale imports for the first time as local transformers clamoured for more resins.

Speaking at the K-conference in Germany, Pedro Ramirez, commercialization manager of olefins and plastics, said Pequiven expects to produce 540,000 tonnes of resins this year versus a capacity of 600,000 tonnes and will import 52,000 tonnes to meet the shortfall, confirming import figures ICIS news reported last month.

According to local daily El Universal, Ramirez also said that the company will import similar volumes in 2008 even though it expects to inaugurate a high-density polyethylene plant in December that will add 60,000 tonnes of additional capacity.

Representatives at Pequiven did not return calls for comment.

($1.00 = €0.69)

By: Jasmina Kelemen
+1 713 525 2653

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