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PBB POLISUR Facility in Bahia Blanca | Credit: Instituto Del Ambiante - 2024
*Comprises four enterprises: Compañía Mega, Dow Argentina, Profertil, Unipar Indupa

Dow’s Bahía Blanca complex in Ingeniero White is a fully integrated petrochemical hub producing ethylene and polyethylene with a combined ethylene capacity of ~730 kt/y and PE capacity of ~650 kt/y. It operates under PBBPolisur S.R.L., a wholly-owned Dow subsidiary, and sources feedstock via a 600 km pipeline from Neuquén Basin gas processing.

Feedstock and Logistics

• Natural Gas Processing: Ethane supplied via Compañía MEGA S.A. (28% Dow, 38% Repsol YPF, 34% Petrobras), which processes 40 Mm³/day of gas and fractionates 5 Mm³/day of NGLs in Neuquén; connected by a 600 km dedicated pipeline to Bahía Blanca.​
• Port Access: Two jetties capable of handling Panamax vessels for PE exports.

Production Plants

The Dow Complex in Bahía Blanca is located in the port town of Ingeniero White. It is made up of 6 production plants that employ 580 people directly and a similar number of contractors:

Two ethylene crackers process ethane derived from Neuquén Basin natural gas:

• Cracker 1 (BB1): 275 kt/y ethylene production capacity
• Cracker 2 (BB2): 425 kt/y ethylene production capacity
• Total Ethylene Capacity: ≈ 700 kt/y

Four PE plants produce HDPE, LDPE, and LLDPE:

PBBPolisur operates two HDPE units with capacities of 150,000 metric tonnes and 122,000 metric tonnes respectively and its total polyethylene capacity is about 650,000 metric tonnes according to a Feb 20225 report. In addition, the site also operates one LDPE unit with capacity of 290,000 metric tonnes, and one solution polymerization unit according to multiple sources up to 2022 allowing to estimate that total polyethylene production capacity is 619,000-655,000 tonnes/year whereas actual polyethylene production was 549,776 and 636,642 tonnes in 2021 and 2022 respectively. 

As of Nov 2014:

• The LDPE plant will be refurbished to enable production of resins for extrusion coating used in multiple packaging applications.
• The Slurry plant expansion will help drive growth of bimodal blow-molding resins, which is currently in short supply in the region.
• The Gas-phase plant, which produces resins for geomembranes and pipes, will also be refurbished for improved operational performance.
• The Solution plant expansion will bring more of Dow’s popular Dowlex and Elite brand resins to market, and enable Dow to increase its participation in high-value markets, such as food packaging and hygiene.​​​​​

More details about the individual PE plants are provided in the assets section.

PBBPolisur production plants are circled in yellow colour | Credit: Eficiencia Energética en Argentina, 2019

References

1. Tullo, A.H. (2004). Dow's Southern Petrochemical Pole. Chemical & Engineering News, 82(49). Retrieved from https://cen.acs.org/articles/82/i49/DOWS-SOUTHERN-PETROCHEMICAL-POLE.html
2. Revista Mercado. (2001, June 2). PBB Polisur inaugura nuevas plantas. Revista Mercado. Retrieved from https://mercado.com.ar/negocios/pbb-polisur-inaugura-nuevas-plantas/
3. CREEBBA - Centro Regional de Estudios Económicos Bahía Blanca. (n.d.). Actividad petroquímica en la Argentina y Bahía Blanca. Informe de Actividad Económica, 179. Retrieved from https://creebba.org.ar/iae/iae179/1_petroquimica_IAE_179.pdf
4. Secretaría de Energía de la Nación. (n.d.). Informe del sector químico. In Eficiencia Energética Argentina. Retrieved from https://eficienciaenergetica.net.ar/img_publicaciones/04281626_09-InformeQumica.pdf
5. CREEBBA - Centro Regional de Estudios Económicos Bahía Blanca. (n.d.). El sector petroquímico a través de los años - Bahía Blanca. Informe de Actividad Económica, 95. Retrieved from http://www.creebba.org.ar/iae/iae95/El_sector_petroquimico_a_traves_de_los_anos_IAE_95.pdf
6. Chemical Engineering. (2014, November 13). Dow plans polyethylene capacity expansion in Argentina. Chemical Engineering. Retrieved from https://www.chemengonline.com/dow-plans-polyethylene-capacity-expansion-in-argentina/?printmode=1
7. Ámbito. (2014, November 12). Dow Argentina amplía su planta en Bahía Blanca. Ámbito Biz. Retrieved from https://www.ambito.com/ambito-biz/dow-argentina-amplia-su-planta-bahia-blanca-n3867066
8. Prensa Económica. (2014, February 23). Dow invierte $ 450 millones en Complejo Bahía Blanca. Prensa Económica. Retrieved from https://prensaeconomica.com.ar/dow-invierte-450-millones-en-complejo-bahia-blanca-prensa-economica/
9. Despachantes Argentinos. (2014, November 14). Dow invierte $450 M para sustituir importaciones de polietileno. Retrieved from https://www.despachantesargentinos.com/detalle_noticia.php?id=8788
10. Consejo Federal de Inversiones (CFI). (n.d.). Cadena polietileno. In Estrategias Logísticas - Provincia de Buenos Aires. Retrieved from https://cfi.org.ar/assets/docs/estrategias_logisticas/PBA-Polietileno-CFI.pdf
11. N.E. Zaritzky. Instituto Del Ambiante. (2024). TECNOLOGÍAS DE RECICLADO Y VALORIZACIÓN DE RESIDUOS PLÁSTICOS. Retrieved from https://acading.org.ar/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/IA-ANI-N7-Tecnologias-de-reciclado-y-valorizacion.pdf
12. S&P Global Commodity Insights. (2025, Feb). Polyethylene Resins, High-Density (HDPE). Retrieved from https://www.scribd.com/document/866532254/Polyethylene-Resins-High-Density-HDPE-PDF
13. S&P Global Commodity Insights. (2020, April 30). Dow Chemical idles polyethylene plant in Argentina. Retrieved from https://www.spglobal.com/commodity-insights/en/news-research/latest-news/chemicals/043020-dow-chemical-idles-polyethylene-plant-in-argentina
14. Argus Media. (2025, March 31). Argus ethylene and derivatives. Market Report. Retrieved from https://view.argusmedia.com/rs/584-BUW-606/images/CHE-Argus-Ethylene.pdf
15. Argus Media. (2022, February 22). Dow faces Argentina chemical operation production cuts. Retrieved from https://www.argusmedia.com/en/news-and-insights/latest-market-news/2304994-dow-faces-argentina-chemical-operation-production-cuts
16. Kellogg Graduate School of Management. (1995, November 9). Dow Chemical's bid for the privatization of PBB in Argentina. Case Study. Retrieved from https://googlegroups.com/group/ymba-interfin/attach/482c9f78af73d2aa/Case_InterFIN.pdf
17. OPSUR. (2013, May 28). Dow cree que tras el acuerdo con YPF no tendrá déficit de materia prima. Retrieved from https://opsur.org.ar/2013/05/29/dow-cree-que-tras-el-acuerdo-con-ypf-no-tendra-deficit-de-materia-prima/
18. La Nación. (2000, August 24). Dow Química invertirá este año US$ 720 millones. La Nación. Retrieved from https://www.lanacion.com.ar/economia/dow-quimica-invertira-este-ano-us-720-millones-nid30246/
19. UTEC FRBB - Universidad Tecnológica Nacional. (2013, March 30). Dow Argentina invierte $ 67 millones en su Complejo de Bahía Blanca. Retrieved from https://utec.frbb.utn.edu.ar/dow-argentina-invierte-67-millones-en-su-complejo-de-bahia-blanca/