Colombia's Ecopetrol is not currently exporting low-density polyethylene to Brazil because of less domestic ethylene availability tied to recent maintenance, market sources said Monday.
There has not been any LDPE available for export to Brazil, which normally receives 500 mt/month from Ecopetrol, since the last week of October because of a production shortfall and the state-led company's decision to prioritize the domestic market.
A source close to Ecopetrol said the Barrancabermeja plant in October had scheduled maintenance of one of two fractioning tower, which reduced the availability of ethylene fed to the turboexpander plant and this allowed for less polyethylene production. The source said he understood the fractioning tower was back in operation.
Ecopetrol has 30 days worth of supplies in stock to meet domestic demand, the source added.
The source said the plant in 2016 sold a record 62,000 mt of polyethylene, both from the production of 60,000 mt and 2,000 mt in stock. Production slated for this year is 55,000 mt.
