Braskem Ides to Inaugurate Ethylene XXI Project in Mexico

Mexico: Braskem Idesa, a 75:25 joint venture between Braskem and Idesa, is expected to initiate its petrochemical complex, Ethylene XXI in Nanchital, Mexico. The petrochemical complex is worth USD5.2 billion and the three downstream facilities have a total polyethylene (PE) production capacity of 1.05 million metric tons. per year. The project contains an ethane cracker along with two high-density PE (HDPE) production units and one low-density (LDPE) production unit. The plant began HDPE production in April 2016 and the LDPE plant is scheduled to be commissioned by the end of June 2016. Initially, 50% of the total production output would be allocated for domestic marketing in Mexico, while the other 50% of the output would be exported in the international markets, including North America, Central America, Europe and Asia. Gowever, 80%-90% of the total production output is planned to be sold to the Mexican market over the next five years. The company signed an ethane supply agreement for 20 years with Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) in order to fulfil the plant’s feedstock demand.

TechSci Research depicts that the establishment of the Braskem Idesa’s petrochemical complex in Mexico is anticipated to reduce the petrochemicals import in Mexico and address the domestic demand of polyethylene in the Mexican market, which is expected to witness an average growth of 3%-4% over the next few years.

According to a recent report published by TechSci Research, “Global Butadiene Market Forecast and Opportunities, 2020”, global butadiene market is expected to cross 13 million metric tons in volume terms by 2020. Butadiene is obtained as a by-product during the production of ethylene and propylene by two different types of processes: Dehydrogenation and Steam cracking. The yield of butadiene is directly related to feedstock, i.e. heavier the feedstock, higher would be the butadiene yield. LyondellBasell, Royal Dutch Shell, TPC Corporation, BASF are some of the leading global players involved in the production of butadiene.