COAL Sinopec to build coal-based MTO project in China China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation (Sinopec), the second largest oil and natural gas producer in China entered an agreement with the government of Hebi city in China’s central Henan province to jointly develop a 1.8 million ton per year coal-based methanol to olefin (MTO) project. Sinopec…
AMERICAS Dow adding polyolefin elastomer capacity The Dow Chemical Company has announced an increased polyolefin elastomers manufacturing capacity at its production facilities in Freeport, Texas, and Tarragona, Spain. The capacity expansions, in conjunction with SCG-Dow Group’s new world-scale specialty elastomers plant in Thailand, which is currently under construction, will result in a net increase of…
AMERICAS DuPont and Invista settle polymers lawsuits DuPont and Koch Industries subsidiary, Invista have signed a settlement agreement resolving three existing lawsuits between the companies – concerning polymers technology, adiponitrile (ADN) technology, and disputes related to existing supply agreements. DuPont filed a lawsuit against Invista in 2008 alleging that Invista infringed upon DuPont patents and…
AMERICAS LyondellBasell ending business relationships in Iran, Sudan, and Syria LyondellBasell Industries is ending its business relationships in Iran, Sudan, and Syria. The decision is the result of a business review that began more than a year ago and was affected by both an increased number of American executives on LyondellBasell’s management team and by…
AMERICAS LyondellBasell approved for NYSE listing LyondellBasell’s shares of its common stock are expected to begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on October 14. Class A ordinary shares will trade under the symbol LYB and Class B ordinary shares under the LYB.B symbol. The company was de-listed from the NYSE after the…
AMERICAS Braskem plans Polypropylene upgrade Braskem America will invest USD 40 million in its U.S. polypropylene business through 2011, upgrading facilities’ infrastructure, and integrating business processes with parent company Braskem. Braskem has allocated more than USD 35 million for upgrading manufacturing assets, and USD 15 million of that will go to the company’s La Porte,…
AMERICAS DAK Americas buying Eastman’s PET business for USD 600 million Eastman Chemical Co. has agreed to sell its integrated PTA and PET resin business to DAK Americas LLC, owned by Alpek, a division of Mexican conglomerate Alfa SAB de CV, for USD 600 million in cash. The transaction is expected to be completed in…
AMERICAS LyondellBasell’s profit was boosted by strong polyolefin demand LyondellBasell announced a third-quarter net income of USD 467 million, compared to a net loss of USD 651 million in the third quarter of 2009, driven by increased demand for polyolefins and higher selling prices for ethylene. Globally, LBI’s olefins and polyolefins results have been approximately…
AMERICAS Nova selling its stake in Ineos Nova joint venture Nova Chemical Corporation has sold its 50 percent stake in the Ineos-Nova polystyrene joint venture to its partner Ineos Group for an undisclosed price. Nova confirmed the sale on November 12 in its third-quarter earnings report. Nova and Ineos already had a similar JV in…
AMERICAS Sasol to build a co-monomer plant at Lake Charles Sasol will build the world’s first commercial ethylene tetramerization unit designed to produce more than 100 KTA of combined octene-1 and hexene-1 co-monomers at its Lake Charles, LA complex. The unit will use Sasol’s proprietary technology converting ethylene to octene-1 and hexene-1. Construction is scheduled…