Braskem (BRKM5) plans to triple use of ethane in production and bet on the offer of US and Petrobras (PETR4)

Braskem (BRKM5) aims to raise the participation of ethane as an input in the production of petrochemicals in Brazil and has a larger offer of the raw material by US suppliers and Petrobras (PETR4), Petrochemical President Roberto Ramos said on Thursday.

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According to him, in a cracking plant located at the Petrochemical Polo of Camaçari, Bahia, the use of ethane could rise from the current 10% to up to 30%.

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The company currently uses NAFTA as the main raw material in the Bahian unit. To reach 30%, Ramos estimates the need for 20,000 barrels of ethane per day. The highest use of ethane should also be implemented in another Braskem plant in Rio Grande do Sul, with a demand of 15,000 daily barrels.

“Ethane is our dream raw material,” the executive told journalists.

Braskem already matters from United States The ethane used in its processes in the Bahian pole and is reinforcing the logistics infrastructure to reach the level of 30% in three years.

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“We are already working to reach these 30%; we already have a logistics and we will possibly have to reinforce more and make available ships that can bring from the US,” said Ramos. “We will possibly have to build ships for this or to grieving a ship.”

Despite the high cost of transportation, the executive pointed out that the value of the ethane molecule is considered competitive. “Transporting the ethane since then costs $ 300 per ton and, this destroys a part of the competitive advantage we have when leaving NAFTA to ethane.”

The company also expects to have a larger stage of stage of Petrobras, its partner. Braskem “cheer” for the development of Petrobras gas production in the Sergipe-Alagoas basin, which could enable a greater supply of the input to Braskemaccording to Ramos.

“This yes could bring more to Camaçari at a much more convenient price. We are hoping for the Sergipe-Alagoas project and, until then, we will continue to import ethane from the US,” he said, adding that if the state-owned company cannot expand the offer, Braskem could seek the input in the neighboring Argentina.

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Braskem also said, separately, that “it has been advancing in the transition of its raw material matrix, focusing on the expansion of natural gas use, such as ethane, and reducing naphtha dependence.”