Braskem Reports Record Ethane Imports into Mexico, Offsetting Reduced Pemex Supply

Braskem SA reported record-high ethane imports during the third quarter to its polyethylene complex in Coatzacoalcos, Mexico, and the figure is set to continue growing.

Ethane imports to the Braskem Idesa facility — among the largest petrochemicals plants in Latin America — reached a record 22,400 b/d in September, Braskem management said earlier this month upon presenting the firm’s third-quarter results.

The milestone was achieved after completion in August of an expansion to the Fast Track project, an initiative to shore up ethane imports to the plant amid dwindling supply from Mexican state oil company Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex).

Braskem Idesa, a joint venture between São Paulo, Brazil-based Braskem and Mexico’s Grupo Idesa, owns the Coatzacoalcos plant, which has...