Chemical News
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European Parliament gives tough offshore drilling recommendations Sep 14,2011
The European Parliament Tuesday passed a resolution saying the development of new oil and gas fields in European seas should only be allowed if the operator has prepared an adequate emergency plan and has sufficient funds to repair possible damage to the environment. Site-specific plans for all drilling, which the relevant member state would hav...>>>
Environmentalists unhappy with new Montana fracking rules Sep 14,2011
A set of new Montana regulations requiring the disclosure of chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing do not go far enough in protecting the rights of nearby property owners, according to a statewide conservation group. "We are not satisfied. We're definitely happy that the state is finally getting around to doing this, but the current regulations...>>>
European Parliament gives tough offshore drilling recommendations Sep 14,2011
The European Parliament Tuesday passed a resolution saying the development of new oil and gas fields in European seas should only be allowed if the operator has prepared an adequate emergency plan and has sufficient funds to repair possible damage to the environment. Site-specific plans for all drilling, which the relevant member state would hav...>>>
BP sees 'good' initial result from Alaska North Slope heavy oil test well Sep 14,2011
BP is getting very good results from the first of four test production wells drilled into the Ugnu heavy oil deposit on the Alaska North Slope, company officials said in an interview Tuesday. The well produced up to 650 b/d of oil mixed with sand and with the sand removed the net production was about 550 b/d, said Eric West, BP's manager on the ...>>>
PetroChina to import nearly 100,000mt of gasoil in Sep Sep 14,2011
PetroChina has placed orders for two MR-sized cargoes of imported gasoil for arrivals in September, with the combined volume at nearly 100,000mt, said a source close to Chinaoil, PetroChina's subsidiary. These two cargoes are products with sulfur content at 350ppm, to the shipped to East China and South China, said the source. Just like PetroChi...>>>
PetroChina, Sinopec's salable oil product stocks drop on stronger demand Sep 14,2011
PetroChina and Sinopec's combined salable oil product inventories settled at 4.60-mil mt in 13 major grain-producing areas on Sep 7, down by 3.29% from one month earlier, according to the latest data from the National Development & Reform Commission. Among these stockpiles were 2.77-mil mt of gasoil, down by 1.55%. These inventories fell as p...>>>
China's Aug crude imports climb 8.29% on month: GAC Sep 14,2011
China imported 21.04-mil mt of crude in August, up by 8.29% from the previous month, according to the data from the General Administration of Customs. The country hiked crude imports in the month amid less refinery maintenance, C1 found. Despite notable month-on-month growth, the imports in August were down by 2.37% from those in May, before ...>>>
Europe chemical stocks fall on eurozone debt fears, bank reforms Sep 13,2011
LONDON-European chemical stocks fell on Monday as global markets made further losses from Friday due to continuing fears over the eurozone's debt problems and a sharp drop in bank shares following the recommendation of UK banking reforms. At 09:43 GMT Barclays was trading down 1.15%, HSBC Holdings was down 1.50%, while shares in Royal Bank of Sc...>>>
China's Fujian Meide to start propane dehydrogenation unit in 2014 Sep 13,2011
China's Fujian Meide Petrochemical plans to start operations at a new propane dehydrogenation unit at Fujian city, Fujian Province, in 2014, said US' UOP late last week. UOP said it will provide the technology for the PDH unit, which will have a design capacity of 660,000 mt/year of propylene. "China's propylene consumption accounts for more ...>>>
Swiss Lonza extends $1.4 bil tender offer for US Arch Chemicals Sep 13,2011
Swiss biochemicals group Lonza said Monday it has extended its $1.4 billion tender offer for US-based Arch Chemicals to September 30 as it has yet to secure the regulatory clearances it requires to conclude the deal. The all-cash offer, equivalent to $47.20 per share, is scheduled to expire on September 12. The extension was needed because c...>>>
US ethylene cracker margins down nearly 10% on weaker spot prices Sep 13,2011
US ethylene cracker margins dipped nearly 10% week on week to levels not seen since early August on the back of falling spot prices. Margins using ethane/propane mix as feedstock dropped 3.31 cents/lb, or 9.8% to close Friday at 30.40 cents/lb, according to Platts data. Margins using ethane were also down 2.92 cents/lb, or 9.6% to 27.49 cents...>>>
High premium of US MX to blend value potentially limiting sales Sep 13,2011
The high premium of US spot mixed xylene to the blend value could limit purchases, sources said Monday, as US spot mixed xylene was assessed Friday at a 99.90 cents/gal ($320.70/mt) premium to the blend value, the highest premium in more than four years. The last time the MX spot premium to the blend value was this high was January 23, 2007, whe...>>>
NEB orders TransCanada to stick with lower interim 2011 gas tolls Sep 13,2011
Canada's National Energy Board late Friday turned down TransCanada Pipelines' application for final 2011 natural gas transportation rates for its Mainline and instead ordered the operator to continue with its lower, interim tolls for the year. In May, TransCanada proposed a final rate structure that would have hiked tolls up as much as 21 cents...>>>
US FERC finds Spectra pipeline to have limited environmental impact Sep 13,2011
Spectra Energy's New Jersey-New York pipeline expansion project will have limited environmental impact, and most effects are likely to occur during construction, the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said Monday in its draft environmental impact statement on the proposed 16-mile project. FERC also recommended to Spectra 33 measures to miti...>>>
ConocoPhillips to restart some China Penglai oil wells to reduce pressure Sep 13,2011
ConocoPhillips will restart a number of wells at the Penglai 19-3 oil field in China's Bohai Bay to discharge fluid from the reservoir and reduce reservoir pressure, CNOOC Ltd said in a statement published on Monday. The "depressurization" and "sealing" plans to reduce reservoir pressure and seal seep sources submitted by ConocoPhillips require ...>>>
Strong oil prices, rising E&P spending boost oilfield service sector: IHS Sep 13,2011
Strong oil prices and rising global exploration and production budgets are driving demand for oilfield services in North America's unconventional oil and natural gas plays and internationally, consultant IHS said Monday. IHS said it expects strong demand in Latin America, South America, the Middle East and West Africa to continue through 2011 an...>>>
Major Chinese refineries' operation rate inches down to 79.66% in early Sep Sep 13,2011
Major Chinese refineries' operating rates averaged 79.66% on Sep 8, down by 0.51 percentage points from two week ago, C1 research showed. This run rate was close to the lowest level this year, sharply down by 8.3 percentage points from the record high that was set in the second half of May, or down by 5.7 percentage points from a year earlier. ...>>>
Oil majors plan to supply GB-IV gasoline in Nanjing from Oct 1 Sep 13,2011
Petrol stations under Sinopec, PetroChina and CNOOC petrol stations in East China's Nanjing plan to supply gasoline that all meets GB (national standards) IV as from Oct 1, C1 learned. According to this plan, Nanjing will become the sixth Chinese city to implement GB-IV vehicle emission standards, after Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and...>>>
Saudi Arabia's Sipchem defers VAM plant shutdown, now likely in Q4 Sep 09,2011
Saudi International Petrochemical Company, or Sipchem, has deferred plans to shut its 330,000 mt/year vinyl acetate monomer plant in Jubail as the plant's catalyst continued to work above expectations. The shutdown, however, it likely will be somewhere in the fourth quarter toward the end of the year, a source close to the company said Thursday. ...>>>
Asian benzene rebounds $11/mt to $1,141/mt, on strong buying Sep 09,2011
Asian benzene pegs for October-loading cargoes were assessed at $1,141/mt FOB Korea at midday Thursday, or $11/mt above Wednesday's assessment of $1,130/mt FOB Korea, on strong demand as participants bid higher for both October- and November-loading cargoes. Asian benzene was assessed $3 lower day on day Wednesday at $1,130/mt FOB Korea, in anot...>>>