VINACHEM

NEW YORK (ICIS)--Brazil-based petrochemical and polymers company Braskem is considering a greenfield investment in an ethylene cracker and a polyethylene (PE) plant in the US, its CEO said on Tuesday.

“In PE as well as PVC [polyvinyl chloride], we see opportunities for greenfield investment in the US, especially with the shale gas feedstock,” said CEO Carlos Fadigas at a media event at the New York Stock Exchange.

Braskem produces PE in Brazil, but has no capacity for the resin in the US. The company is a major player in US polypropylene (PP) after it bought Sunoco’s PP assets in 2010.

“Having a PE asset in the US is not necessary for us to build a greenfield plant. We already have the operational expertise and produce 6.6m tonnes of polymer capacity in Brazil,” said Fadigas.

“Plus, while we don’t have a commercial presence in PE in the US, many of our customers in the US who buy PP from us, are also buyers of PE,” he added.

While Braskem is considering a major project in the US, Fadigas noted that “all petrochemical companies are contemplating greenfield PE capacity in the US.”