Braskem Reduces Ethylene Production Amid Decrease in Market Demand

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Braskem (NYSE:BAK) (Camacari, Brazil) has shut down two naphtha cracker units because of the reduction in demand for ethylene products domestically and internationally. The first unit is in Camacari, Bahia state, and the second unit, with a capacity of 720,000 metric tons per year, is at the Triunfo Petrochemical Complex in Rio Grande do Sul.

The Camacari unit was taken offline in the beginning of December, and Cracker 1 at Triunfo was shut down on December 8. Although the units are scheduled to remain offline until the end of the year, authorities have said they will continue weekly reviews of the market in order to determine whether the units will remain offline as scheduled or for a longer period of time.

Until December 10, the Triunfo Complex had been operating at normal capacity despite the recent leak of Petrobras' (NYSE:PBR) (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) Gasbol pipeline, which cut natural gas supplies to the region. Plant officials were forced to use other feedstock to continue operations. For more information view December 5, 2008, news article - Braskem Continues Normal Operation of Triunfo Petrochemical Complex Despite Gasbol Pipeline Leak. At the moment, Triunfo's 480,000-metric-ton-per-year Cracker 2 is processing at full capacity, and the complex's remaining units will be kept at maximum rates for now.

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