Braskem, Grupo Idesa JV Braskem Idesa places order for five compressors, three steam turbines for 1.05 million ton/year ethylene plant in Veracruz, Mexico

Wendy Lisney

TOKYO , March 29, 2012 (press release) – Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Compressor Corporation (MCO), a wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI), has received an order from Braskem Idesa, S.A.P.I. of Mexico for five compressors and three steam turbines to be used in a large-scale ethylene production facility which that company is to build locally. The compressors and turbines will be applied to the core process of ethylene production. MCO has an abundant track record in the delivery of this type of equipment to mega ethylene plants having production capacities exceeding 1 million tons per year (mtpy), and the company believes this strength contributed to its winning of the new order.

The equipment on order involves three compressor trains: a charge gas compressor train to compress cracked gas produced by thermally cracking natural gas (the feedstock); and two trains of ethylene and propylene refrigeration compressors, which use ethylene and propylene as refrigerant, respectively. Together the three trains consist of five compressors, three steam turbines to drive the compressors, and auxiliary devices including control systems and condensers. MCO is slated to deliver the compressors and turbines in the spring of 2013. Mitsubishi Corporation is handling the trade particulars.

Braskem Idesa is a joint venture between Braskem S.A. of Brazil, the largest petrochemical company in South America, and Grupo Idesa, S.A. de C.V., a Mexican petrochemical maker. Braskem Idesa's ethylene production facility will be located within the Coatzacoalcos Petrochemical Complex, in the state of Veracruz, along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. The facility is slated to go on-stream in 2015 with a production capacity of 1.05 mtpy of ethylene. A consortium formed by Technip Italy S.p.A., a group company of Technip of France, Construtora Norberto Odebrecht (Brazil) and ICA Fluor (Mexico) a leading engineering firm, has been awarded the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the ethylene plant.

About Mitsubishi Heavy Industries

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. , headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is one of the world's leading heavy machinery manufacturers, with consolidated sales of 2,903.7 billion yen in fiscal 2010, the year ended March 31, 2011. MHI's diverse lineup of products and services encompasses shipbuilding, power plants, chemical plants, environmental equipment, steel structures, industrial and general machinery, aircraft, space rocketry and air-conditioning systems. For more information, please visit the MHI website at www.mhi.co.jp .

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