APLA '10: Braskem picks INEOS technology for Mexico PE project

09 November 2010 20:03  [Source: ICIS news]

RIO DE JANEIRO (ICIS)--Brazilian chemicals major Braskem said on Tuesday it has selected INEOS technology for two of three polyethylene (PE) plants at its “Ethylene XXI”´ petrochemicals project in Mexico.

The two plants would be based on INEOS´s Innovene S slurry technology and would have a combined capacity of 750,000 tonnes/year of high density polyethylene (HDPE), said Braskem vice president Roberto Ramos.

The third plant would have the capacity to produce 300,000 tonnes/year of low density polyethylene (LDPE), he added.

There would be no linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) “because the Mexican market demands more HDPE’’, Ramos noted.

The selection of INEOS technology for the two plants was part of a wider partnership announced by Braskem and INEOS Technologies at the closing of the Latin American Petrochemical Association (APLA) annual meeting.

Under the partnership, Braskem could acquire licences for Innovene S slurry and Innovene G gas phase technologies for the production of HDPE and linear low density PE (LLDPE), respectively.

Ramos said the agreement gave Braskem the opportunity to produce up to 4m tonnes/year of PE using INEOS technology over a period of 10 years.

In addition, Braskem and INEOS would jointly conduct research and development programmes for the slurry and gas-phase PE platforms, the companies said.

The Ethylene XXI project is a joint venture between Braskem and Mexico’s Idesa, and would comprise an ethane-based cracker plus downstream PE. Located in Coatzacoalcos, the project is scheduled to start up in early 2015.

Braskem has already picked INEOS PE technology for two PE plants in its Polimerica joint venture in Venezuela. Ramos said the Polimerica project would include an HDPE plant and an LLDPE plant, both based on INEOS technology, plus an LDPE plant based on Basell technology.

The Polimerica cracker and PE project has been delayed as a result of the impact of the global economic crisis, Ramos said.

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By: Anna Jagger
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