Bolivia's state-owned petrochemical company will license polypropylene technology from LyondellBasell Industries for use at the country's first plastic resins plant.
Yacimientos Petroliferos Fiscales Bolivianos (YPFB) has selected Spheripol process technology for the 550-million-pound capacity plant in Tarija. Market sources said the plant is expected to open in 2021.
Spheripol technology was selected for “its superior economics, proven track record and broad product slate,” YPFB petrochemical plants manager Mario Salazer Gonzales said in the release.
Spheripol is the most widely used PP production technology in the world. Houston-based LyondellBasell has granted more than 250 licenses for the technology, which is used at plants with total annual capacities of more than 48 billion pounds.
LyondellBasell also ranks as the world's largest producer of PP resins and compounds, as well as being a sizable polyethylene maker. The firm posted sales of $32.7 billion in 2015.