Chemical News
-
Indonesia's PTPN X, Japan's Nedo to build ethanol plant in East Java Apr 26,2011
Indonesia's PT Perkebunan Nusantara X and Japan's New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization, or Nedo, plans to begin construction of a fuel-grade ethanol plant in Mojokerto, East Java, in May, the state-owned plantation company said to local media over the weekend. According to PTPN X President Director Subiyono, construction...>>>
Asia: Asian BZ stronger overnight Apr 26,2011
Asian benzene prices were assessed higher overnight, supported by gains in naphtha prices. The Asian naphtha prices gained $2/mt to $1,077.75/mt CFR Japan Monday. Asian benzene prices were assessed at $1,222/mt FOB Korea Monday, up $5/mt from Thursday. The US benzene price was at a nearly $43 premium to the Asian price. The European price ended las...>>>
Europe: Swiss energy trader EGL signs Turkish joint venture deals Apr 26,2011
Switzerland-based energy trading company EGL Group has signed separate joint ventures with Turkish state gas importer and pipeline operator Botas and Turkish LPG and LNG trading group Demiroren, the three companies announced in statements released Monday. The agreement with Botas allows for the two groups to cooperate in areas of oil and natural...>>>
Asia: Plugging of Pennsylvania Chesapeake well to start Friday, leak halted Apr 26,2011
Plugging of a Chesapeake Energy natural gas well in Bradford County, Pennsylvania, is scheduled to start later Friday, according to a spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Protection. Flows from the well, whose wellhead connection ruptured Tuesday and spilled thousands of gallons of hydraulic fracturing fluid onto surrounding farm ...>>>
Africa: Libyan rebels say need four weeks to assess damage to oil fields Apr 26,2011
Libyan rebels will need four weeks to assess damage to two key oil fields that came under attack by troops loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Qadhafi earlier this month, the head of the rival National Oil Company Wahid Bougaighis said Sunday. He told a press conference in Benghazi, headquarters of the opposition Transitional National Council, that t...>>>
Asia: Bangladesh rejects Santos, Oakland proposal for gas blocks 17 and 18 Apr 26,2011
Bangladesh rejected a proposal by Australian oil major Santos and its US partner Oakland International to explore two offshore gas blocks jointly and sell output to private buyers, the US company's Bangladesh representative, Mohammad Farid Hossain told Platts last Friday. Hossain said the energy ministry had informed Santos and Oakland that it w...>>>
Americas: US Coast Guard faults Transocean safety culture in Deepwater Horizon report Apr 26,2011
The US Coast Guard said Friday that deficiencies in Transocean's safety culture contributed to the sinking of the company's Deepwater Horizon rig after BP's Macondo well blew out in the US Gulf of Mexico one year ago. These included "poor maintenance" of electrical equipment that may have ignited the explosion; bypassing of gas alarms and autom...>>>
Sinopec Shijiazhuang Refinery steps up LPG output with FCC back into operation Apr 26,2011
Sinopec Shijiazhuang Refinery saw increasing LPG output after it restarted 800,000-mt/yr fluid catalytic cracker on Apr 24, according to a refinery source. The refinery is expected to supply about 600mt per day of LPG in the near term because of unstable run state of the newly-restarted unit, reckoned local distributors, which showed low buying ...>>>
Sinopec Guangzhou Petchem delays completion of turnaround to end Apr Apr 26,2011
Sinopec Guangzhou Petrochemical is expected to wrap up maintenance of some units on Apr 30, about 10 days later than scheduled, a source with the refinery told C1. The refinery will resume normal crude throughput of 33,000mt daily in May, according to the source. As C1 reported earlier, Guangzhou Petrochemical started to revamp some units by ...>>>
Shandong Shenchi Chemical completes month-long turnaround Apr 26,2011
Shandong Shenchi Chemical has recently wrapped up month-long overhaul, but it is yet to resume gasoline and gasoil production, according to a refinery source. "We offer no oil products now because of low stocks," said the source. The refinery expects to resume normal supply early May, the source added. Shenchi Chemical normally produces abou...>>>
PetroChina Kunlun Gas takes over LPG sales from Sanxing Chemical in Hebei Apr 26,2011
PetroChina Kunlun Gas has recently taken over LPG sales from Sanxing Chemical Co (transliteration) in Hebei's Huanghua city, according to industry sources. "Kunlun Gas supplies feedstock to us and it is in charge of the sales of ultra-clean LPG and propane produced by us, while we will still be responsible for LPG pricing," said a source with Sa...>>>
Singapore fuel oil crack spread widens US$0.83/bbl in past two weeks Apr 26,2011
Fuel oil crack spread in Singapore has widened in the past two weeks, as market fundamental kept softening, C1 found. The crack spread of current-month fuel oil swaps to Dubai crude settled at minus US$12.26/bbl on Apr 25, widening by US$0.83/bbl from Apr 11, C1's data show. This was the widest crack spread in about two months. Singapore fuel...>>>
Polish section of Yamal pipeline open to third parties in July Apr 25,2011
The Polish section of the Yamal pipeline which brings Russian gas to Poland and Germany will be opened up for third-party use in July, Jan Chadam, the head of the country's transmission system operator, Gaz-System, said in an interview published Friday. "We will publish information about how much additional gas will be available to transmit on o...>>>
Samsung Fine Chemicals Q1 net profit down 10% on raw material costs Apr 25,2011
South Korea's Samsung Fine Chemicals said Friday its first-quarter net profit fell 10.1% year-on-year to Won 15.2 billion ($14.1 million) from Won 16.9 billion due to higher raw material costs. Operating profit was also down 22.7% to Won 12.6 billion in the quarter ended March, compared with Won 16.3 billion a year earlier, under a new method of...>>>
Oxy to increase liquid caustic $50/st effective immediately Apr 25,2011
Occidental Chemical Corporation plans to increase all grades of liquid caustic soda by $50/ST effective immediately, industry sources said Thursday. Confirmation from the company was not immediately available. Tight supply and production issues have put upward pressure on the spot and contract markets. Over the last two months, US caustic ...>>>
Russia's Rosneft, Lukoil to cooperate on offshore exploration Apr 25,2011
Russia's two largest oil producers, Rosneft and Lukoil, announced a deal late Thursday on joint exploration and production offshore in areas licensed to Rosneft in the Arctic. The deal also foresees cooperation in a range of other areas, including exploration and production in the Nenets Autonomous Region, marketing oil products and natural gas,...>>>
New US task force will look at speculators in oil futures markets Apr 25,2011
A task force formed by President Obama in response to skyrocketing gasoline prices will examine the role that speculators and index traders play in oil futures markets. The task force also will give Obama something to point to showing that his administration is attempting to combat one of the thorniest issues in his recently announced bid for re...>>>
Alberta touts petchem advantage despite US shale boom Apr 25,2011
TORONTO-The government of Canada's Alberta province remains confident of its petrochemicals industry's prospects, despite the US shale gas boom which has triggered a wave of new chemical plants across the border. "We still expect the 'Alberta Advantage' to continue," said Tim Markle, a spokesman for the province's energy ministry, Alberta Energy...>>>
Dow Chemical to build new US cracker for start-up in 2017 Apr 22,2011
TORONTO-Dow Chemical plans to build a world-scale ethylene plant on the US Gulf coast for start-up in 2017, the US-based chemicals major said on Thursday. The plant will be part of a plan to integrate Dow's petrochemicals business with feedstock opportunities from the US shale gas in the Marcellus and Eagle Ford shale regions, Dow Chemical said....>>>
Asia: Tight supply, higher costs keep Asian PVC outlook firm for May Apr 22,2011
PVC prices in Asia have continued to move higher for May in defiance of the reduced consumption in China owing to the Chinese Central Bank's recent decision to raise reserve requirement rates. Extremely tight import PVC supplies across the region, rapidly rising domestic PVC prices in Southeast Asian markets as well as $100/ton higher May sell idea...>>>