Ethylene Producers in South America Plan Few Turnarounds in 2010

---

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The Chemical Processing Industry (CPI) of South America is home to only 14 operational ethylene units, most of which are very small and quite old in comparison to installed capacity elsewhere in the world. For this reason, the time needed for maintenance turnarounds is both costly and very limited to market conditions.

During 2009, almost half of these ethylene producers used planned or scheduled downtime due to poor economics or "must do" repairs that had been postponed once already in many cases. This year, as demand is beginning to show some slight signs of improvement, the amount of planned downtime has dropped significantly, with only two planned unit turnarounds for the entire year: one in Argentina and the other in Brazil.

This significant reduction in downtime is a response to opportunities for replenishing inventories and producing product, while improvements in demand seem most likely. Looking ahead to 2011, turnaround activity is expected to ramp up with at least five planned unit maintenance turnarounds scheduled for the year, based on activity currently identified as part of Industrial Info's Ethylene Turnaround Tracking Database. Two of these turnarounds will take place in Brazil, two of them in Argentina, and the last in Columbia.

There are some signals of long-term improvements in ethylene demand for the region, with plans for several ethylene unit additions as well as grassroot capacity to meet the needs of downstream olefins, like polyethylene and similar commodities. Petrobras (Rio De Janeiro, Brazil) continues to review plans for a new ethylene unit to be part of a grassroot chemical complex in Itaborai, Brazil. Plans for this new complex have been in development for a couple of years, and based on current schedules, a decision on the project could be made by the end of 2010.

View Plant Profile - 1076288
View Project Report - 67000781

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy related markets. For more than 26 years, Industrial Info has provided plant and project spending opportunity databases, market forecasts, high resolution maps, and daily industry news.