Braskem Plans Big Mexican Complex

Brazilian chemical giant Braskem and Mexican chemical firm Grupo Idesa won an auction of feedstock from Mexican state oil company Pemex that they will use for a new petrochemical complex in Mexico. The venture, controlled by Braskem, plans to build a $2.5 billion ethylene cracker in Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, by 2015. The facility will have 1 million metric tons of annual ethylene capacity plus downstream polyethylene plants. This isn’t the first time that Pemex has tried to spearhead a new chemical complex. Earlier in the decade, it linked with Canada’s Nova Chemicals, Idesa, and Mexican polypropylene maker Indelpro to build Phoenix, a cracker project that was ultimately canceled. Braskem is also planning petrochemical projects in Venezuela, Peru, and Brazil.