YPF: Argentina will build a petrochemical industry cluster

Source: China Chemical Industry News April 18, 2019

Sinochem New Network News Federico Veller, the chemical executive manager of Argentina's state-owned energy company YPF, recently said that Argentina is expected to build a petrochemical production cluster in the next ten years. YPF hopes to fully develop shale gas and natural gas liquid resources in the Vaca Muerta area for investment in petrochemical projects and to serve the South American market. Weller said that YPF is studying the construction of world-scale investment projects in ethylene, propane dehydrogenation (PDH), methanol, and derivatives including polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP). The company is also evaluating the feasibility of urea expansion Sex.

Weller said: \"We are looking for partners. The investment opportunities are huge, and it is impossible to develop successfully by a single company. At present, the supply of petrochemicals in South America is seriously insufficient. In 2018, South America imported 7 million tons/year of urea and 1.1 million. Tons of polyethylene per year, 800,000 tons of methanol per year, and 300,000 tons of polypropylene per year. The new petrochemical production capacity will largely meet the strong demand for petrochemicals in the region.\"

YPF is evaluating Argentina’s first large-scale LNG export facility to take advantage of the expected surge in Vaca Muerta shale gas production.