ERROR 1
ERROR 1
ERROR 2
ERROR 2
ERROR 2
ERROR 2
ERROR 2
Password and Confirm password must match.
If you have an ACS member number, please enter it here so we can link this account to your membership. (optional)
ERROR 2
ACS values your privacy. By submitting your information, you are gaining access to C&EN and subscribing to our weekly newsletter. We use the information you provide to make your reading experience better, and we will never sell your data to third party members.
The Mexican state-owned firm Cenagas is cutting off natural gas supplies to Braskem Idesa, an ethylene and polyethylene joint venture in Coatzacoalcos, Mexico, controlled by the Brazilian petrochemical firm Braskem. Braskem says the cutoff is forcing the venture to halt operations. “Braskem Idesa will take applicable legal measures to protect its rights,” it says. Pemex, the Mexican state-owned oil and gas company, and Braskem have been feuding about supplies of ethane feedstock to the complex, which opened in 2016 with 1 million metric tons per year of ethylene capacity. Pemex has struggled to keep up with supplies, especially given slumping oil and gas production due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Braskem has been supplementing Pemex’s ethane with imports from the US. In April, Fitch Ratings downgraded Braskem’s credit rating because of vulnerability in ethane supply. And last month, according to a report in the Cuban publication Prensa Latina, Pemex said it was backing out of its contract with Braskem, largely because of what it sees as overly generous terms granted to the chemical maker by a previous government. Braskem said at the time that it hadn’t been notified of a termination of the contract.
Join the conversation
Contact the reporter
Submit a Letter to the Editor for publication
Engage with us on X