Petrobras and Braskem Agree Naphtha Supply Deal

After nearly two years of negotiations, Brazilian energy company Petrobras has agreed a new five-year naphtha supply contract with petrochemical producer Braskem.

Under the terms of the agreement, Braskem will pay Petrobras 102.1% of the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp benchmark price for 7 million t/y of naphtha. Braskem depends on naphtha from Petrobras to feed its petrochemical plants.

The contract is valid from Dec. 23, 2015 and allows for the possibility of renegotiating terms from 2018, depending on pre-determined market conditions.

Prior to this agreement, the companies had signed a serious of extensions to a short-term contract while negotiations continued. A final extension expired on Dec. 15.

Braskem has still not yet decided whether to build an ethane-fed cracker and downstream polyethylene (PE) plants in Parkersburg, West Virginia, US. It was reviewing plans last April. New polypropylene (PP) plants were also being considered in the US.