UpdateBraskem signs MOU to cut investment in Venezuela PP project

29 April 2010 01:06  [Source: ICIS news]

HOUSTON (ICIS news)--Brazilian petrochemicals producer Braskem signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA to greatly reduce its investment in a petrochemicals plant there and to delay a second one, Braskem said on Wednesday.

If the project changes were finalised, investment in the Propilsur polypropylene (PP) project (initially projected at $1bn) would be scaled back to $500m (€380m), the company said.

Planned production capacity would be reduced to 300,000 tonnes/year from the originally planned 450,000 tonnes/year , Braskem said.

Braskem said the investment would be scaled back as the company would not need to install a propane dehydrogenation plant that had been initially planned.

Braskem told ICIS news in March that it may relocate the project to Paraguana in Venezuela’s Falcon state from Jose in Anzoategui state so that the project could receive propylene feedstock from the Paraguana refinery complex.

That would eliminate the need to build an integrated propane dehydrogenation plant, Braskem said.

Operations would begin in 2013 as planned, the company said. 

Meanwhile, Braskem and PDVSA also agreed to delay the construction of the Polimerica polyethylene (PE) project by a year to 2015 to examine cheaper feedstock options, Braskem said.

The location of the Polimerica project could also be changed, Braskem said

($1 = €0.76)

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By: Hellen Berger
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