Industry: Chemicals & Plastics

Stricter marine emissions regulations drive interest in cleaner fuels; abundant North American shale gas offers LNG and methanol as lower-emission alternatives to traditional fuels.

 AMERICAS  Sekisui Plastics USA introduces a new grade of Piocelan®foam resin  Sekisui Plastics USA has launched a new grade of moldable Piocelan®foam resin, Piocelan T. The new material is a hybrid of polystyrene and polyolefins using Sekisui Plastics’ proprietary hybrid foam technology. Compared to previous grades that lack sufficient heat resistance for some automotive applications, […]

Ammonia production, a mature and widely practiced method, provides established natural gas monetization.

AMERICAS   Shintech to build new ethylene unit at Iberville Parish facility   Shintech, the largest PVC producer in North America, will invest USD 1.4 billion for a new ethane cracker installed at its facility in Iberville Parish, Louisiana, as well as infrastructures that connect ethylene output to VCM and PVC units. The new plant […]

AMERICAS   Nova Chemicals evaluating new PE plant   Canada-headquartered Nova Chemicals is considering building a new PE plant and might have a final decision within 12-18 months. If this PE project realizes, the PE plant would benefit from its expansion project of cracker in Corunna, Canada which is due on stream in 2017. In […]

AMERICAS Total launches new HDPE grade Total has introduced a new HDPE grade, XSene XRT70. This grade which combines excellent processability and raised temperature resistance is designed for water and gas pressure pipe application. High extrusion speed at low extrusion temperature without sacrificing the finished surface can be achieved, which has been confirmed by converters […]

MTG projects offer higher returns than GTL due to lower capital costs and infrastructure compatibility, making them attractive in North America’s shale gas market.

We are blogging regularly on various oil and gas, energy, and chemical industry topics. Read our recent views on North American methanol projects.

AMERICAS   ExxonMobil launches new Vistamaxx grade   ExxonMobil has introduced a new propylene-based elastomers grade, Vistamaxx3588FL. The new material offers good heat seal properties with excellent processability in cPP and BOPP film applications. Comments: Snack, biscuit, and candy packaging in China and Southeast Asia are expected to be some of the highest growth areas […]

Despite its reduced environmental impact relative to other disposal methods, flaring represents a dissipation of economically viable energy resources.

AMERICAS Borealis to invest in PP compounding in Brazil Borealis has completed the expansion of its PP compounding facility in Itatiba, Brazil. The expansion was completed with an investment of about USD 48 million. The expansion project included the addition of two new lines; the output from the new lines will be sold to automotive […]

AMERICAS Formosa Plastics to build new PE plant Formosa Plastics’ new PE plant at Point Comfort, Texas will have the capacity to produce 525 KTA. This will be the second PE unit at the Point Comfort complex. Construction for this unit is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2015 and the plant is […]