Braskem fully commissions Mexican petrochemicals complex

June 24, 2016
Braskem Idesa SAPI, a 75-25 joint venture of Braskem SA, Sao Paulo, and Groupo Idesa SA de CV, Mexico City, has fully commissioned its long-planned Etileno XXI petrochemical complex in the Coatzacoalcos-Nanchital region of the Mexican state of Veracruz.

Braskem Idesa SAPI, a 75-25 joint venture of Braskem SA, Sao Paulo, and Groupo Idesa SA de CV, Mexico City, has fully commissioned its long-planned Etileno XXI petrochemical complex in the Coatzacoalcos-Nanchital region of the Mexican state of Veracruz (OGJ, July 7, 2014, p. 90).

The company officially inaugurated the complex on June 22, Braskem said.

Initially entering precommissioning and testing phases of equipment and systems in early 2015, the $5.2-billion Etileno XXI project features an ethane cracker that now produces a combined 1.05 million tonnes/year of ethylene and polyethylene for clients primarily in Mexico, the US, Europe, Asia, and Central and South America.

Alongside the gas cracker, which uses Technip process technology and receives 66,000 b/d of ethane feedstock under a 20-year supply agreement with state-owned Petroleos Mexicanos, the complex houses the following installations:

• Two high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plants with capacities of 400,000 tpy and 350,000 tpy, respectively, both based on technology from Ineos.

• A 300,000-tpy low-density polyethylene (LDPE) plant that uses technology from LyondellBassell.

• Storage, waste treatment, and utilities.

• A logistics platform for shipment of 1 million tpy of polyethylene via rail, truck, or bagged.

• Administrative, maintenance, control room, and other buildings.

Utility installations at the complex include a 175-Mw combined-cycle power and steam cogeneration plant initially planned as a 150-Mw plant, Braskem said.

Braskem, a subsidiary of Odebrecht SA, said Etileno XXI aligns with the company’s strategy to expand operations in the Americas as well as increase its access to more competitively priced North American gas-based feedstock supplies.

Braskem Idesa’s full commissioning of the complex follows the start of HDPE production at the site in early April (OGJ Online, Apr. 8, 2016).

Contact Robert Brelsford at [email protected].