Fitch Ratings has downgraded the debt of Mexico petrochemicals firm Braskem Idesa after state natural gas pipeline operator Cenagas cut off natural gas transport service to the firm’s Etileno XXI polyethylene complex in Veracruz state. With the transport service rescinded, Braskem Idesa was forced to shut down Etileno XXI, the largest petrochemicals operation in Latin…
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COLUMN: Cessation of Gas Supply to Etileno XXI Worrying Sign for Energy Industry
Editor’s Note: NGI’s Mexico Gas Price Index, a leader tracking Mexico natural gas market reform, is offering the following column by Eduardo Prud’homme as part of a regular series on understanding this process. Prud’homme was central to the development of Cenagas, the nation’s natural gas pipeline operator, an entity formed in 2015 as part of…

Phillips 66 Sees Midstream Consolidation as ‘Likely to Happen’
After the recent flurry of mergers and acquisitions in the upstream space across North America, Phillips 66 thinks the midstream space is ripe for consolidation. The Houston-based management group discussed third quarter performance for the energy manufacturing and logistics firm during a conference call with analysts Friday. CFO Kevin Mitchell thinks the company could position…

Work on Shell’s Pennsylvania Ethane Cracker Progressing, but Schedule Clouded by Covid-19
Construction of Royal Dutch Shell plc’s multi-billion dollar ethane cracker in western Pennsylvania is about 70% complete, while the 98-mile pipeline system that would feed the facility is 95% complete, a company executive said Tuesday, noting that the Covid-19 pandemic has complicated the project. “All of the major equipment is up, all of the modules…

Mexico Poised to Ramp Up Ethane Imports Amid Insufficient Local Supply
Mexico will need to build out infrastructure to import ethane in order to keep its petrochemicals industry afloat amid insufficient domestic natural gas production, according to local experts. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s recent call to renegotiate or even cancel an ethane supply agreement between state oil company Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) and the Etileno XXI…

Increased Ethane Imports Said Necessary to Keep Mexico Petchem Industry Afloat
Mexico will need to build out new infrastructure to import ethane in order to keep its petrochemicals industry afloat amid insufficient domestic natural gas production, according to local experts. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s recent call to renegotiate or even cancel an ethane supply agreement between state oil company Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) and the Etileno…

Scarce Natural Gas Supply Driving Another Contractual Dispute Between Mexico’s AMLO, Private Sector
Natural gas supply is once again at the heart of a contractual dispute between Mexico’s government and the private sector, with President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s sights now trained on the Etileno XXI petrochemicals plant owned by Braskem Idesa in Veracruz state. López Obrador said Monday the terms under which state oil company Petróleos Mexicanos…

EIA Says U.S. Ethane Production to Grow at Steady Clip Through 2021
A rebound in demand for ethane as a key feedstock for petrochemical manufacturing should fuel production growth through 2021, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). EIA forecasted in its August Short-Term Energy Outlook that ethane production would exceed 2 million b/d by the fourth quarter. That would mark a 9% increase from the start…

Daelim Cites Covid-19 in Dropping Stake in Ohio Ethane Cracker
PTT Global Chemical pcl has lost its equity partner in a multi-billion dollar ethane cracker proposed for southeast Ohio. Daelim Chemical USA dropped its stake, citing the Covid-19 pandemic’s impact on the project timeline and the global economy’s impact on its investment plans. PTT affiliate PTTGC America LLC said it would move ahead with the…

NGI The Weekly Gas Market Report
‘Inevitable’ Downturn Seen in U.S. NGL Production, but Midstreamers Appear Optimistic
A sharp recovery in natural gas liquids (NGL) production projected in the Permian Basin won’t be enough to stave off a dramatic decline in overall U.S. output, which Rystad Energy is forecasting will tumble to under 4.2 b/d in 2021.