OREANDA-NEWS. Brazilian petrochemicals giant Braskem signed a 10-year ethane supply contract with US company Enterprise Partners as part of a strategy to diversify its feedstock.

Braskem is investing R380mn ($106.15mn) in modifications to its Camacari plant and Aratu port terminal in anticipation launching ethane imports by the end of the second quarter of 2017.

The ethane will meet up to 15pc of the feedstock needs of the company's cracker in Camacari, Bahia state.

The new contract, which is indexed to the price at Mont Belvieu, Texas, comes at an advantageous time for Braskem. Ethane has been trading at or near its fuel value for the last three years as US production outpaces demand, leading to more than 500,000 b/d in ethane rejection in the US market.

The adoption of ethane is part of a broader plan by Braskem to reduce its dependence on naphtha acquired from Brazilian state-controlled oil company Petrobras.

Braskem reached a long-term naphtha supply contract with Petrobras on 23 December. At the time the company said the new contract did not entirely meet its expectations, but it deemed it necessary to sign the deal to avoid uncertainty in the sector.

Brazilian conglomerate Odebrecht controls Braskem with a 38pc stake. Petrobras holds 36pc and the remaining shares are publicly listed.

Enterprise Products expects to complete construction of its ethane export facility at Morgan's Point in the Houston ship channel in the third quarter of 2016. The facility will have a loading rate of roughly 200,000 b/d.