VENEZUELA - Methanol & Petrochemical Complexes.

Two JVs produce methanol at Jose: Metor, on stream since 1994, owned 35% by Pequiven, 22.75% by each of Mitsubishi Corp. and Mitsubishi Gas of Japan, and the other partners are Polar & the WB's International Finance Corp. (IFC). Metor has a capacity of 720,000 t/y, which was to be expanded to 1.72m t/y before 2002; and Supermethanol, on stream since Feb. 18, 1995 owned 34.5% by each of Pequiven and Ecofuel of ENI, and 15% by each of Methanol Holding Ltd. and Petrochemical Investments Ltd. Supermethanol has a capacity of 690,000 t/y, which was to be raised to 1.3m t/y before 2002.

Pequiven executives have said extension of the methanol chain in Venezuela will involve construction of a 500,000 t/y acetic acid plant by 2004, a 250,000 t/y vinyl acetate plant by 2006, and other facilities.

Current plans for aromatics include a 500,000 t/y styrene plant to be on stream by 2004 and to use one of the existing refineries' production streams.

The Petrochemical Complexes - El Tablazo: Located on the north-east coast of Lake Maracaibo in Zulia state of western Venezuela, El Tablazo complex produces mainly olefins, plastics, fertilisers and industrial products. Its total production capacity is over 3.6m t/y.

Among projects completed at El Tablazo in 1998 was a 120,000 t/y PVC plant called PVC II. PVC I in 1998 was expanded from 45,000 to 65,000 t/y. In 1996, a soda-scales unit and an ethane plant were completed at the complex. With a capacity of 270,000 t/y, the ethane plant guaranteed the supply of feedstock for the olefins plants and made it possible for considerable volumes of propane to be exported, generating additional income estimated at $50m/year. The complex also provides feedstock for a 115,000 t/y increase in ethylene production.

Pequiven in 1999 completed an operational consolidation programme for its Olefins I and II facilities at El Tablazo complex to make them more efficient. El Tablazo's olefins plants now have an overall capacity of 600,000 t/y of ethylene and 400,000t/y of propylene - the latter having been the result of a merger in 1998 of three JVs at El Tablazo: Plastilago, Polilago, and Resilin.

Private companies operating at El Tablazo complex include: Estizulia, producing polystyrenes; Dow Chemicals, manufacturing latex; and Liquid Carbonic, producing carbon dioxide. PdV M&M has a gas processing plant at the complex, which has a large terminal on Lake Maracaibo to handle solids, liquids and the unloading of heavy machinery.

Jose: A major port and industrial zone located on the seashore of eastern Venezuela's Anzoategui state, 250km east of Caracas, this complex is the site of important petrochemical plants. MTBE and methanol are the main products at Jose. Pequiven executives have said a total capacity of almost 2.5m t/y will more than double in the next three to four years.

The Pequiven JVs operating at the complex are MTBE maker Super Octanos, and methanol makers Metor and Supermetanol. These now produce more than 2.1m t/y, an output higher than the plants' design capacity, and methanol capacity should double before 2002.

Expansions at Jose have included a new marine dock for liquids, solids and containers, as well as new power and industrial water supply facilities. The latter projects, worth $200m, have been carried out by a joint venture of Earth Tech and Pequiven.

Jose is to be the site for a planned but much delayed $2.65 bn Pequiven-ExxonMobil olefins JV which is yet to be finalised. It is said that, in view of Chavez's unpredictability and a downturn in the petrochemicals business, the US super-major is dragging its feet. In 1999, the project was scheduled for completion by end-2004. To be the largest olegins plant in South America, it was to produce 920,000 t/y of ethane-based ethylene, 780,000 t/y of polyethylenes (LLDPE & LDPE), and 400,000 t/y of ethylene oxide-glycol. Associated gas feedstock for this JV was to be supplied by PdV Gas from the San Joaquin field in eastern Venezuela.