Chemical News
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S Korean Kumho Petrochemical to spend $837 mil on new plants in Yeosu Jul 28,2011
South Korea's Kumho Petrochemical and its subsidiaries plan to spend a combined Won 880 billion ($837 million) by 2014 to build new plants in Yeosu, on the country's southern coast, the company said Wednesday. Kumho Petrochemical will build a solution-polymerized styrene-butadiene-rubber plant with a capacity of 60,000 mt/year by 2014 and its su...>>>
BASF to build 2nd 100,000 mt/yr non-phthalate plasticizers plant in Ludwigshafen Jul 28,2011
German chemicals giant BASF said Wednesday it plans to double the production of phthalate-free plasticizer DINCH -- Di-isononyl-cyclohexane dicarboxylate -- by 2013 to meet increasing demand for alternative plasticizers. BASF will build another 100,000 mt/year plant at Ludwigshafen, the company said in a statement. The site already hosts a simil...>>>
Dow Chemical to sell global polypropylene business for $340 million Jul 28,2011
Dow Chemical has signed a definitive agreement to sell its global polypropylene business to a strategic buyer for $340 million, Chairman and CEO Andrew Liveris announced Wednesday during a conference call to discuss second-quarter 2011 earnings. The divestiture of the PP business is consistent with Dow's long-term strategic business model, Liver...>>>
ANALYSIS: Changed US gas price environment poses challenge for Ruby Jul 28,2011
Ruby Pipeline, put on the drawing board when Rockies prices were at rock-bottom levels, goes into service Thursday in a far different environment, going head-to-head with cheap Canadian gas in a race the new pipeline could lose if not for the firm contracts that have locked up the bulk of its capacity. In another complication, Pacific Gas and El...>>>
Japan, Russia to proceed on joint oil and gas projects in Far East Jul 28,2011
Japan and Russia agreed late Tuesday to proceed on prospective oil and gas projects in Russia's Far East and East Siberian regions, including the planned LNG project at Vladivostok, a Japanese government official said Wednesday. They will also move forward on oil and gas projects that would be mutually beneficial, he added. During the govern...>>>
Iran's Ahmadinejad nominates IRGC's Ghasemi as oil minister Jul 28,2011
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Wednesday nominated Rostam Ghasemi, a commander in the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps as oil minister, a controversial choice to head up the most strategic cabinet portfolio given that the ideological army is on an international blacklist. "Rostam Ghasemi...is introduced for the oil ministry," A...>>>
US not ready to respond to Arctic oil spills: Coast Guard chief Jul 28,2011
The top officer of the US Coast Guard said Wednesday that the government is not prepared to respond to an oil spill in Arctic waters if a drilling company fails to control its own well. Admiral Robert Papp, the agency's commandant, told the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation that the government had plenty of resources stati...>>>
Brazil's Braskem to buy Dow's global PP business Jul 28,2011
HOUSTON-Braskem is buying Dow Chemical's global polypropylene (PP) business, the Brazil-based company said on Wednesday. Earlier in the day, Dow said it was selling the business to an unnamed strategic buyer for $340m (€235m). Braskem said the purchase would make it the leading PP producer in North America. Included in the sale are t...>>>
Sinopec puts off restart date of Qingdao Refining & Chemical Jul 28,2011
The resumption date for Sinopec Qingdao Refining & Chemical has been delayed by about five days to Aug 10, a source with the refinery said. The company temporarily resumed LPG supply on Wednesday, offering 400-500mt from its stock, according to the source. Qingdao Refining & Chemical will step up LPG barge supply when its maintenance is wrapp...>>>
China supplies 1.58-mil mt of jet to international flight in H1, up 23% yoy: GAC Jul 28,2011
China supplied 1.58-mil mt jet to international flight in the first half of this year, up by 23% from a year earlier, according to data released by the General Administration of Customs. The volume accounted for 46% of China's total jet exports in the period. The rise could be attributable to 7.6% year-on-year increase in the total transport tu...>>>
Refining margins for major refineries rebound slightly in end Jul Jul 28,2011
Major refineries recorded improved refining margins in end July as integrated sales revenues of their products edged up, C1's research showed. Based on integrated ex-refinery prices of oil products, the margin for refining Daqing crude was minus Yuan 369/mt (equivalent to minus US$7.7/bbl) on Jul 27, versus minus Yuan 402/mt two weeks earlier; t...>>>
WR Grace raises earnings outlook, eyes bankruptcy exit Jul 27,2011
LONDON-US speciality chemicals producer WR Grace raised its earnings predictions for 2011 on Tuesday as the company mulled an end to more than a decade of bankruptcy proceedings. The company expects to record earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) of $465m–480m (?26m–336m) in 2011, it said in its second-quarter earnings report, released on Tues...>>>
Gulf Asian Petroleum to build refinery, PP plant, storage in Malaysia Jul 27,2011
Malaysia-listed Gulf Asian Petroleum has entered into an agreement with local companies KNM Group and Zecon to carry out engineering, procurement and construction of a refinery, polypropylene plant and storage facility at Teluk Ramunia, Johor, according to a joint statement released Monday. The project, which is worth MR15 billion ($5 billion), ...>>>
Initial US August propylene contract price nominations call for 3-cents/lb hike Jul 27,2011
Initial US nominations for August propylene contracts called for a 3-cent/lb increase in prices, market sources said Tuesday. A 3-cent/lb increase was nominated by LyondellBasell, two market sources confirmed. Another major was heard nominating at similar levels, although this could not be immediately confirmed. Propylene contracts last settl...>>>
Asia could draw LNG away from Europe in 2012 on better prices: report Jul 27,2011
Shipments of LNG to Europe may drop next year as suppliers could choose to send their cargoes to higher-paying alternative destinations such as Asia, analysts from Barclays Capital said in a report Tuesday. "Global LNG demand is on the rise, with much of the increases in Qatar['s] production already being absorbed by the market," the analysts sa...>>>
Sud-Chemie starts construction of German cellulosic ethanol plant Jul 27,2011
Specialty chemicals company Sud-Chemie AG said Tuesday it had began construction of a demonstration plant that will be the largest in Germany dedicated to the production of cellulosic ethanol from non-edible crop waste. The plant is due to start operating at the end of 2011 and will make up to 1,000 mt of cellulosic ethanol/year, primarily from ...>>>
US expands program to boost production of renewable fuel crops Jul 27,2011
The US will help fund the growing of crops for biofuels in six states, an expansion of the Biomass Crop Assistance Program created in 2008, the Department of Agriculture said Tuesday. Four new project areas will set aside hundreds of acres in California, Kansas, Montana, Oklahoma, Oregon and Washington for the production of renewable energy crop...>>>
API ANALYSIS: Crude stocks climb on jump in imports Jul 27,2011
US commercial crude stocks unexpectedly rose 3.96 million barrels to total 358.202 million barrels the week ending July 22 with imports climbing, an analysis of the oil data released late Tuesday by the American Petroleum Institute showed. Analysts polled by Platts had projected a draw of 2.3 million barrels in crude stocks. Supply/demand ba...>>>
Dalian Customs tops others in gasoline export in Jun: GAC Jul 27,2011
Gasoline export through Dalian Customs was 140,646mt in June, higher than any other customs, data from the General Administration of Customs indicated. The volume was up by 68.83% from the previous month and up by 38.34% from the same period last year. Dalian Wepec, which contributed 43.5% of the export, hiked its gasoline export by nearly 70...>>>
Titan Petrochemicals to bring on stream 340,000-cu-m oil terminal in Fujian in Aug Jul 27,2011
Fujian Titan Petrochemical Storage Development plans to put a 340,000-cu-m oil storage into operation in Quanzhou of southeastern China’s Fujian Province in August, with construction work complete at present, a company source told C1. "With all facilities ready to serve, Quanzhou oil terminal will become operational in the first half of August w...>>>