In 2009, Odebrecht is marking its 30th anniversary in the petrochemicals industry.

A major milestone in the Group’s presence in that sector was the creation of Braskem in 2002 through the consolidation of Odebrecht’s numerous holdings in Chemicals & Petrochemicals companies.

Brazil’s largest petrochemical company, Braskem exports to over 60 countries. In 2008, it produced about 11 million tonnes of basic and downstream petrochemical products and intermediate chemicals at its 18 units in the states of Alagoas, Bahia, Rio Grande do Sul and São Paulo.

Latin America’s leading producer of thermoplastic resins (polyethylenes, polypropylene and PVC), this Odebrecht subsidiary has Petrobras as one of its main partners. Its shares are listed on the São Paulo, New York and Madrid stock exchanges. In 2008, Braskem’s investments totaled USD 789 million.


Braskem’s Share Structure
(% of Shares)

VOTING CAPITAL




TOTAL EQUITY




Financial indicators (in millions of USD)*





Braskem’s share of the Brazilian thermoplastic resin market:

50% Polyethylenes
53% Polypropylene
51% PVC


Braskem’s Production Capacity
(in thousands of tonnes/year)

THERMOPLASTIC RESINS
2,412 Polyethylene
530 Polypropylene


VINYLS
550 PVC
1,523 Chlor-Alkali


BASIC FEEDSTOCKS
2,480 Ethylene
1,180 Propylene
280 Butadiene
999 BTX*
597 Other**

* BTX = Benzene, Toluene, Orthoxylene and Paraxylene
**Other = Mixed Xylene, MTBE, Coperaf, Butene 1, Dicyclopentadiene, Isoprene and C9 Solvent


OTHER PRODUCTS
72 Cyclohexane
55 Cyclohexanone
114 Ammonium Sulfate


TOTAL
10,792,000 tonnes/year of chemical and petrochemical products