InterviewBraskem to consider US cracker, PE project - CEO

19 April 2011 18:48  [Source: ICIS news]

By Joseph Chang

NEW YORK (ICIS)--Brazil-based petrochemical and polymers company Braskem is considering a greenfield investment in an ethylene cracker and a polyethylene (PE) plant in the US, its CEO said on Tuesday.

“In PE as well as PVC [polyvinyl chloride], we see opportunities for greenfield investment in the US, especially with the shale gas feedstock,” said CEO Carlos Fadigas at a media event at the New York Stock Exchange.

Braskem produces PE in Brazil, but has no capacity for the resin in the US. The company is a major player in US polypropylene (PP) after it bought Sunoco’s PP assets in 2010.

“Having a PE asset in the US is not necessary for us to build a greenfield plant. We already have the operational expertise and produce 6.6m tonnes of polymer capacity in Brazil,” said Fadigas.

“Plus, while we don’t have a commercial presence in PE in the US, many of our customers in the US who buy PP from us, are also buyers of PE,” he added.

While Braskem is considering a major project in the US, Fadigas noted that “all petrochemical companies are contemplating greenfield PE capacity in the US.”

For more on ethyelne, PE or PP visit ICIS chemical intelligence

By: Joseph Chang
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