Industry: Chemicals & Plastics

BASF and Shell review strategic options regarding their joint venture Basell BASF and Shell announced their plans to review strategic alternatives regarding their joint venture Basell, in which they both hold a 50 percent equity interest. The options being reviewed by the shareholders include the sale of their stakes and an equity market transaction. During […]

Dow Chemical to construct petrochemical complex in Oman The Government of the Sultanate of Oman, Oman Oil Company S.A.O.C. (OOC), and The Dow Chemical Company announced an agreement to form a joint venture that will design, build and operate a petrochemical complex in Oman. The joint venture will be owned 50% by Dow, 25% by […]

Borealis to debottleneck PP plant & expand ethylene capacity in Norway Borealis announced its plans to debottleneck its PP plant at Rønningen. The company will also expand its Noretyl ethylene cracker capacity by 100,000 MT/year at its joint venture with Hydro Polymers. The two Norwegian projects will be completed in the autumn of 2005. The […]

Kazanorgsintez to triple PE capacity & add product capability using Univation’s capacity expansion technology Univation Technologies and Kazanorgsintez have signed an agreement enabling Kazanorgsintez to triple the capacity of two of its three existing UNIPOL™PE reactors and add breakthrough PE products to its manufacturing capabilities. The agreement will increase the two existing UNIPOL PE lines […]

Dow introduces a new line of Affinity GA polyolefin plastomers for hot melt adhesives and polymer modification Dow Chemical Company announced the commercial launch of AFFINITY® GA Polyolefin Plastomers (POPs), a new line of highly versatile polyolefin polymers. Developed using Dow’s proprietary INSITE® Technology and Solution Process, AFFINITY GA POPs are the first products of […]

Westlake Chemical Corporation files registration statement for Initial Public Offering Westlake Chemical Corporation announced that it has filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed initial public offering of its common stock. The number of shares to be offered and the price range for the offering have not yet been […]

Basell to license Spheripol technology to National Petrochemical Industrial Company, Saudi Arabia National Petrochemical Industrial Company (NATPET) and Basell have signed a license agreement for a new 400 KT polypropylene plant based on Basell’s Spheripol process. NATPET, a joint stock company owned by Alujain Corporation, Xenel Industries Limited, and other private investors, will utilize the […]

BP to sell over 50% of petrochemicals business and prepares for IPO BP announced that it plans to consolidate the Olefins and Derivatives (O&D) division of its petrochemicals business into a stand-alone entity able to operate separately from the BP Group. The new O&D business will incorporate more than half of the $13 billion of […]

ExxonMobil develops new PP resin grades in Europe ExxonMobil Chemical announced the availability of an advanced polypropylene resin grade – ExxonMobil PP5122E1-designed to provide the high transparency and stiffness required for demanding sheet and thermoforming applications. ExxonMobil PP5122E1, available only in Europe, is a clarified polypropylene using proprietary ExxonMobil Chemical formulation processes. ExxonMobil PP5122E1 resin […]

NOVA and BP in agreement with Grace Davison to supply new NOVACAT™T Ziegler-Natta polyethylene catalyst NOVA Chemicals and BP Petrochemicals announced that they have entered into a long-term supply arrangement with the polyolefin catalyst business of Grace Davison for the manufacture of NOVACAT T advanced Ziegler-Natta catalysts. These catalysts, which are designed for gas-phase polyethylene […]

ExxonMobil Chemical develops a new cost-effective PE resin for wire and cable applications ExxonMobil Chemical announced a new linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) resin, LL 4004EL, for low-voltage power cable insulations. According to the company, the resin provides the cable manufacturer with a balance of crosslinking speed and ease of processing for cost-competitive cable constructions. ExxonMobil […]

Basell’s PE process technology licensing activity on the rise Basell announced that Salavatnefteorgsintez, a Russian petrochemical company controlled by Gazprom, has signed a licensing agreement to use Basell’s Hostalen technology for a new 120,000 MT/year high-density polyethylene plant at Salavat, Republic of Bashkortostan, Russia. The plant is scheduled to be completed in 2006. In a […]