Braskem S.A., in association with the Mexican corporate group IDESA, has won the auction held by Pemex Gas, a state-owned Mexican company, for the acquisition of ethane, which will be used as feedstock for an integrated petrochemical project to be developed in that country (Project Ethylene XXI). Project Ethylene XXI, which is scheduled to start operations in 2015 and will be located in the Coatzacoalcos Petrochemical Complex in the Mexican state of Veracruz, has the main objective of supplying Mexico’s domestic market, which is currently a polyethylene importer. The project will be installed and operated through a joint venture to be created, with IDESA’s participation and controlled by Braskem. Project Ethylene XXI will comprise (i) the acquisition, at competitive conditions, of ethane from Pemex Gas for a period of 20 years, (ii) the construction of a cracker unit that will use the ethane acquired as feedstock for the production of 1 million tons/year of ethylene, and (iii) the construction of three integrated polymerization units for the production of 1 million tons/year of polyethylene. The investment initially estimated for its implementation is up to USD 2.5 billion over the course of 5 years.