Braskem stops Copesul C2 unit for maintenance

01 April 2008 23:32  [Source: ICIS news]

HOUSTON (ICIS news)--The planned shutdown of one of the two Copesul ethylene (C2) crackers at the Triunfo complex in Brazil should not disrupt polyethylene supplies in the country, a source with Copesul owner Braskem said on Tuesday.

Copesul, a Braskem company that produces basic petrochemicals, shut down its Plant 1 on Monday for planned maintenance and upgrades, a Braskem source said.

The 30-day shutdown was expected to result in a production loss of 60,000 tonnes of ethylene.

Braskem did not expect polyethylene (PE) supply disruptions in Brazil as the company has built PE inventories ahead of the turnaround. The company also has built stocks of propylene to keep polypropylene (PP) production at adequate levels during the turnaround, the Braskem source said.

Copesul produces nearly 34.3% of the ethylene produced in Brazil with an installed capacity of 1.135m tonnes/year. In addition to ethylene, its main product, the company produces propylene, butadiene, benzene, toluene, xylenes, methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), butene-1, propane and other products, for a total of 3.2m tonnes/year of petrochemicals.

During the shutdown, the company’s Plant 2 will operate normally. The Plant 1 facility was inaugurated in 1982 and produces 60% of the ethylene produced by Copesul.

The shutdown was estimated to cost Brazilian reais (R) 334m ($191m).

$1=R1.74

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By: George Martin
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