MEXICO CITY, Nov 27 (Reuters) – Mexico’s state oil monopoly
Pemex said on Tuesday it expects to fulfill a joint
venture with Mexichem, despite the plastic pipe maker announcing
it was abandoning the deal because of long delays.
Pemex Chief Executive Officer Juan Jose Suarez Coppel said
in a radio interview that its venture with Mexichem
to produce vinyl chloride monomer (VCM), a key chemical used to
make plastic pipes, is a priority for the state-run giant.
Suarez Coppel said he hoped that “at some point this can be
brought up to the (Pemex) board and a vote can be taken,
finally.”
A Mexichem representative was not immediately available for
comment.
Last week, Mexichem told the Mexican stock exchange that it
had given up on the venture with Pemex and instead would focus
on a plan to extract and sell its own products and pursue
opportunities outside the country to produce VCM.
Mexichem has been expanding in international markets and
wants to reduce its need to buy VCM from other companies, such
as Dow Chemical Co.
Mexichem said in August it was looking at a $1 billion
venture with Occidental Chemical Corp, known as Oxychem, to
build a Texas-based facility to produce ethylene by 2016.
Also on Tuesday, Mexichem said it had won a fluorite mining
concession in the northern state of Coahuila with “potential
reserves” of 4.5 million tonnes, according to a statement filed
with the Mexican stock exchange.
Fluorite is a mineral used in smelting and in the production
of certain glasses and enamels.
