Dow signed an agreement on Tuesday with PETRONAS Chemicals Glycols to collaborate on a carbon project at PETRONAS’ world-scale ethylene oxide (“EO”) production facility in support of the Official Carbon Partnership between Dow and the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Together, Dow and PETRONAS Chemicals Glycols are committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the operations … Read more
INEOS Styrolution has announced the completion of the first successful test runs to produce virgin polystyrene from recycled monomer. Completed at the company’s Antwerp site in Belgium, these experiments can be viewed as practical proof of polystyrene recyclability and as a game changer for INEOS Styrolution in polystyrene production. The product is the result of … Read more
Celanese Corporation, a global chemical and specialty materials company, announced on Monday that after an extensive search, the Board has selected Lori Ryerkerk to succeed Rohr as CEO. The appointments are effective May 1, 2019, and at that time Ryerkerk will also join Celanese’s Board. Mark Rohr, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), will assume … Read more
ExxonMobil said today that it has made a final investment decision on a multi-billion dollar expansion of its integrated manufacturing complex in Singapore to convert fuel oil and other bottom-of-the-barrel crude products into higher-value lube base stocks and distillates. ExxonMobil invests in Singapore integrated complex to upgrade product slate to higher-value lube base stocks, distillates … Read more
DowDuPont announced that it has completed the separation of its Materials Science Division through the spin-off of Dow Inc. On March 21, 2019, DowDuPont common stockholders received one share of Dow’s common stock for every three DowDuPont common stock shares they held at the close of business. Common stockholders of DowDuPont will also receive cash … Read more
Pollution Control Board of Indian state Gujarat has ordered chemicals manufacturer SRF Ltd to shut down its Dahej unit. The board in its order stated that the company has violated the industrial waste disposal norms and installed a calcium chloride plant without regulatory approvals. On March 25, the state regulator inspected the industrial unit of … Read more
American specialty chemicals company Albemarle formally announced start of construction work on its new lithium hydroxide processing plant in Kemberton, Australia at an event last Thursday. The company will build the plant with a total investment of AUD$1 billion ($ 708.2 million). The Kemberton site will be Australia’s largest lithium processing facility when it becomes … Read more
DowDupont estimated that in the first quarter of the year, its earnings fell by a percentage in the high teens, hit by flooding in the midwest of the US, and a squeeze on margins in packaging and plastics. The company’s previous guidance was that earnings before interest, tax depreciation, and amortization would drop by a … Read more
Westlake Chemical Partners LP announced on Wednesday that it has agreed to acquire an additional 4.50% limited partner interest in Westlake Chemical OpCo LP on a fully diluted basis for approximately $201.4 million. The acquisition will increase the Partnership’s limited partner interest in OpCo from approximately 18.3% to approximately 22.8% and will represent the third … Read more
Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia’s state-controlled Oil & Gas giant has reached a $69.1 billion deal to purchase a majority stake in petrochemicals firm Sabic from the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund. The deal will see Aramco buy the 70 percent stake in Sabic held in a share purchase agreement by the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of … Read more
Ineos AG is planning to double the size of subsidiary Ineos Oxide’s proposed ethylene oxide (EO) and ethylene oxide derivatives (EOD) plant to be built somewhere along the US Gulf Coast. Part of Ineos’ plan to address a fast-growing EO merchant market as well as the operator’s own requirements, the new plant—which will now produce … Read more
Borealis, a leading provider of innovative solutions in the fields of polyolefins, base chemicals and fertilizers and the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) agreement to explore potential growth opportunities within the polyolefin industry in key geographical markets that both parties view as key demand centers in the future. … Read more
Westlake Chemical Corporation announced that the company has joined the Alliance to End Plastic Waste (AEPW), an organization launched in January 2019 to advance solutions to eliminate plastic waste in the environment, especially in the ocean. “Westlake is pleased to have joined the Alliance to End Plastic Waste as part of our long-standing commitment to … Read more
Petrobras received a favorable court ruling allowing it to idle a fertilizer plant in Bahia, the Brazilian state energy producer said on Thursday. In February, Petrobras announced the decision to mothball two fertilizer plants in Bahia and Sergipe, but the SINPEQ (Sindicato das Indústrias de Produtos Quimicos para Fins Industriais, Petroquimicas e Resinas Sintéticas de Camaçari, … Read more
The Board of Directors of PhosAgro, one of the world’s leading producers of phosphate-based fertilizers, has approved the Company’s strategy to 2025. The strategy to 2025 aims to further expand PhosAgro’s presence in its priority domestic and premium export markets and strengthen its position as a producer of pure phosphate-based fertilizers with low levels of … Read more
Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LP today announced that it is currently studying the addition of a global scale 1-Hexene unit. The addition would expand the production of normal alpha olefins (NAO), marketed under the Alpha Plus brand name. “As global demand for polyethylene continues to grow, this study demonstrates Chevron Phillips Chemical ’s commitment to … Read more
Honeywell today announced that Jiangsu Sailboat Petrochemical Co., Ltd. will use the C3 Oleflex technology from Honeywell UOP to produce 700,000 tons of polymer-grade propylene per annum at its Lianyungang City facility in the Jiangsu Province of China. Jiangsu Sailboat will expand its existing facility to produce ethylene and propylene using the Honeywell UOP Methanol-to-olefins … Read more
Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) intends to combine its two wholly owned subsidiaries, the Saudi Petrochemical Company (SADAF) and the Arabian Petrochemical Company (PETROKEMYA). The petrochemical giant said in a market report on Wednesday that SADAF will be fully merged into PETROKEMYA on the basis of the valuation set out in its latest financial statements. … Read more
On Tuesday, Huber Engineered Materials (HEM), a subsidiary of J.M. Huber Corporation, announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement with Dunes Point Capital, LP to acquire Miller Chemical & Fertilizer, LLC. The current team and management will continue to run the operations of Miller as a business unit within HEM. Huber looks forward … Read more
Evonik signed an agreement to sell its methacrylates business for € 3 billion ($ 3.4 billion) to Advent International. The sales price is 8.5 times the EBITDA of the business. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals in various countries and is due to close in the third quarter of this year. Globally, Evonik’s methacrylates … Read more