Chemical News
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Iran says South Pars gas output capacity hits 290 mil cu m/d Feb 23,2012
Iran's Pars Oil and Gas Company said Wednesday production capacity from the offshore South Pars gas field, an extension of Qatar's North Field, was producing 290 million cubic meters a day and it rejected suggestions that Qatar's gas production was significantly higher than Iran's. Iran and Qatar have the second and largest natural gas reserves ...>>>
Coal-to-gas switching seen rising in West, Texas and Louisiana: Barclays Feb 23,2012
Low natural gas prices will "for the first time" lead generators in Texas, Louisiana and the western US to begin switching from coal, Barclays Capital analysts are predicting. While power generators in the Southeast, Northeast and parts of the Central Industrial region have been moving for some time to gas from coal because of the attractive eco...>>>
ExxonMobil, Nigeria agree renewal of licenses Feb 23,2012
Nigeria Wednesday renewed ExxonMobil licenses for another 20 years on three oil blocks which together produce 500,000 b/d. The blocks are in oil mining leases 67, 68 and 70. "I am delighted that after a somewhat lengthy process both parties, that the government and people of Nigeria and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. and ExxonMobil joi...>>>
Chicago unleaded differential up 7.25 cents/gal on less supply, more demand Feb 23,2012
The Chicago conventional unleaded gasoline cash differential gained 7.25 cents/gal Wednesday to an assessment of NYMEX March RBOB futures minus 24.75 cents/gal, with no major refiners selling in the spot market and increased buying interest in the gasoline, market sources said. The spot grade of conventional unleaded gasoline weakened in recent ...>>>
India's IOC offers rare volume of 40,000 mt naphtha from Dahej Feb 22,2012
India's state-owned Indian Oil Corp. has offered a rare volume of 38,000-40,000 mt naphtha for loading from Dahej on India's West Coast via a spot sell tender, Asian naphtha market participants said Monday. IOC typically offers 35,000 mt of naphtha for loading from Dahej, with a plus/minus 5% buyers' option on volume. The excess naphtha came ...>>>
Styron raises styrene-butadiene latex prices by $264/mt in March Feb 22,2012
Styron has announced a price increase of Eur200/mt ($264/mt) for all its styrene butadiene and acrylic latex products effective from March 1, the company said in a statement Tuesday. The increase will be applied to all products sold into the paper, carpet and performance markets in Europe, Russia, India, Middle East and Africa. Styron cited c...>>>
Korean polypropylene offers to Peru up $40 to $1,650/mt CFR Feb 22,2012
Korean polypropylene offers to Peru increased $40/mt over last week, reaching $1,650/mt CFR for homo-polymer and $1,700/mt CFR for co-polymer, market players said Tuesday. "Even though we are seeing an offer price increase from Korea, we should buy resin from them because they still have good prices. India was offering homo-polymer at the same p...>>>
US NGL demand to exceed supply starting mid-2012: Raymond James Feb 22,2012
Despite current depressed natural gas liquids prices that could persist through June, supplies are unlikely to outpace long-term petrochemical demand as plant expansions and new builds begin to enter operation in the second half of the year, investment banker Raymond James said in a report Tuesday. "The concern is that an NGL supply glut, simil...>>>
Gazprom, Kogas to speed up talks on Russia-S Korea gas pipeline deal Feb 22,2012
Russia's Gazprom and South Korea's Kogas, which are negotiating for Russian gas via a new proposed pipeline, plan to hold the next round of talks in March, Gazprom said late Monday. They are looking at speeding up the deal, the Russian gas giant added. Gazprom and Kogas are discussing possible supply of up to 12 billion cubic meters/year of Russ...>>>
NYMEX crude settles $2.60/b; rallies to more than nine-month high Feb 22,2012
NYMEX March crude futures settled $2.60 higher at $105.84/barrel Tuesday after rallying to a more than nine-month high on concerns about global supply issues and a eurozone finance ministers agreement on a rescue plan for Greece. March crude traded up to $106.07/b -- the highest since May 5, 2011 -- on the contract's day of expiration. Also a...>>>
Utrecht researchers make plastic from biomass Feb 22,2012
It is now possible to economically produce plastics from biomass thanks to a new type of catalyst developed by chemists at Utrecht University. According to head researcher Prof Krijn de Jong: "The products are exactly the same [as petroleum-based ones], only they are made of pruning waste instead." The invention has already sparked the interest ...>>>
Iran to lift petchems exports 21% to $14 bil in current Persian year: report Feb 21,2012
Iran is expected to export petrochemicals worth $14 billion in the Persian year ending March 20, 2012 up 21% from a year ago, the Tehran Times reported Sunday. Iran currently has a 24.5% share of total petrochemical production in the Middle East and about 2.4% of global production, the newspaper quoted Abdolhossein Bayat, managing director at I...>>>
NWE styrene market backwardation likely in Mar on strong fundamentals Feb 21,2012
The Northwest European styrene monomer forward market structure is likely to flip into backwardation by March given strengthening fundamentals, industry observers said Monday. The view is based upon a confluence of bullish indications -- stronger downstream demand into March/April, balanced-to-tight regional supplies and a lack of an open arbitr...>>>
Japan's Mitsubishi to speed up LNG feasibility studies for Canada projects Feb 21,2012
Japan's Mitsubishi Corp intends to accelerate feasibility studies to export Canadian natural gas as LNG, following its latest agreement to take a 40% stake in Encana Corp's Cutbank Ridge natural gas play, the company said in a statement Monday. Mitsubishi's announcement follows Encana's statement Friday that the two companies had agreed on the C...>>>
Gazprom says has fully restored Russian gas supplies to Europe Feb 21,2012
Gazprom said Monday it had restored supplies of Russian natural gas to Europe in full, after several European countries reported cuts in supplies in early February as freezing weather from Russia to Western Europe drove up gas demand. "I am pleased to announce that Gazprom Group has restored in full natural gas supplies to cover demand of Europe...>>>
US, Mexico reach accord on Transboundary Hydrocarbons Agreement Feb 21,2012
The United States and Mexico formally agreed Monday on how to assign ownership rights and royalties from cross-border hydrocarbons reservoirs in the Gulf of Mexico. The Transboundary Hydrocarbons Agreement was signed in Los Cabos, Mexico, by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Mexican Foreign Minister Patricia Espinosa, with US Interior Secre...>>>
Total closes deal with UK's Tullow for one third in Uganda oil assets: source Feb 21,2012
France's Total has agreed a long-awaited deal with the UK's Tullow Oil to take a 33% stake in Tullow's oil assets in Uganda, a source close to the deal said Monday. "Total has reached an agreement with Tullow -- it's done," the source said. Tullow and Total both declined official comment. The long-delayed farm-down by Tullow of two thir...>>>
Rubber bearings to protect buildings in earthquakes Feb 20,2012
Mathematicians at the University of Manchester are working on a theory that could make buildings 'invisible' to earthquakes. Writing in the Proceedings of the Royal Society, Dr William Parnell has shown that by cloaking components of structures with pressurised rubber, powerful waves, such as those produced by an earthquake, would not 'see' the ...>>>
India's Assam Petrochemicals plans methanol, acetic acid plants by end 2014 Feb 20,2012
India's Assam Petrochemicals plans to build a 500,000 mt/year methanol and a 200,000 mt/year downstream acetic acid plant in Namrup, in northeastern India's Assam state by the end of 2014, a source close to the company confirmed Friday. The methanol will be produced with natural gas from Assam. In the long term, the company also hopes to bu...>>>
Buyers accept ADNOC's term splitter, low sulfur naphtha at $23.50/mt premium Feb 20,2012
Abu Dhabi National Oil Co has reached a final price agreement with its term customers to supply both splitter and low sulfur naphtha over the 12 months starting April 2012 at a premium of $23.50/mt to the ADNOC formula, trading sources said Friday. The ADNOC formula takes the average of FOB Arab Gulf naphtha assessments from Platts and Petroleum...>>>