In order to meet the growing market for oil and natural gas exploration and production in deep waters, Braskem launches two polypropylene resins - PCD 0140 and PCD 0140BR.  The new resins were developed using cutting edge technology and they arrive to supply the plastic coating market for offshore pipes and ducts that transport oil and gas in ocean environments. This sector was supplied by imported resins before Braskem entered the market.

"This is a very promising market for the country and an opportunity for Braskem, especially after discovery of the pre-salt layer," underscores Rui Chammas, vice-president of the Polymer Business Unit at Braskem. He adds: "Developing a high-tech resin to meet this demand is an important differential, especially because it is a large volume market that is a foundation for the domestic economy."

Petrobras is the main player in prospecting in the country. It has been developing increasingly more advanced technologies for deep water well drilling. This has allowed the company to explore and produce in deep and ultra-deep waters, such as the pre-salt areas.

In order to accompany Petrobras’ advances, Braskem met with two pipe producers to develop resins that would meet sector demands. They are: Bredero Shaw and Socotherm, "world leaders in pipe coating solution in the oil sector", explains Walmir Soller, director of Polypropylene Business.

Many kilometers of ducts are needed to connect the wells to the platforms in the offshore basins or to "export" the oil from the platforms to land. There is huge potential for using polypropylene coating in Petrobras’ new platform projects.

Polypropylene coating in steel ducts used to transport oil is greatly important because it functions as thermal insulation by keeping the oil at the temperature at which it is extracted from the ground, which can reach up to 130 C. If oil temperature falls below 50 to 60 C, it stops flowing through the pipes due to excess thickening. In this use, PP thickness can be around 100 mm. In natural gas pipelines, PP functions as an anti-corrosion protection in the metal duct. In this case, thickness requirements are much lower, being on average 4 to 5 mm.

Braskem underwent a careful certification process for its resins, which lasted more than one year, to become an accredited raw material supplier to Petrobras.  Petrobras has a commitment to use as much domestic content as possible in its orders.

Braskem will use the polypropylene resins for the first time on platform P-55, where the oil and gas export pipes extend more than 80 km and will use PCD 0140 and PCD 0140BR. A total of nearly 3 thousand tons of polypropylene will be used in this project alone.  Consumption is expected to reach 6 thousand t/year in 2010 and 12 thousand t/year by 2013. It is important to underscore that Petrobras will construct 15 more large platforms by 2017, 10 for pre-salt sites and the rest for post-salt.