Industry: Upstream and E&P

DuPont starts up $500-Million Kevlar plant DuPont has started up a $500-million Kevlar para-aramid fiber plant in Cooper River, SC, the company says. The plant will begin supply customers at the end of the year. The plant, combined with a $50 million expansion at an existing Richmond, VA facility, increases global Kevlar capacity by 25%. […]

ConocoPhillips splitting in two, fate of plastics operations undecided ConocoPhillips Co. is splitting itself into two independent companies, but just which one will oversee its plastics joint venture may not be decided for “several months.” The Houston-based company announced its plan July 14 to spin off its downstream operations to create one firm overseeing refining […]

Asahi Kasei to build S-SBR plant in Singapore Asahi Kasei Chemicals held a groundbreaking ceremony in Jurong Island, Singapore, for the first phase of construction of a new plant to produce solution-polymerized styrene-butadiene rubber (S-SBR). Asahi Kasei Chemicals is expanding S-SBR operations as a world-leading business, with the new plant in Singapore representing a major […]

Shin-Etsu’s PVC plant in Kashima starts operating at full capacity Shin-Etsu Chemical says that its polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plant at Kashima, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan has started operating at full capacity since May 31. Operations at the PVC plant, where production was suspended since the earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan on March 11, were partially […]

ExxonMobil, Sabic choose new JV site Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (Sabic) and ExxonMobil Chemical Co. have selected Al-Jubail, Saudi Arabia, as the location of a new joint venture plant that will include plastic production. In a March 1 news release, officials with Riyadh, Saudi Arabia-based Sabic and ExxonMobil of Houston said they selected the site […]

Former Dow scientist convicted of selling trade secrets A former Dow Chemical Co. scientist has been convicted of selling information on production of Tyrin-brand chlorinated polyethylene to Chinese firms. Wen Chyu Liu – also known as David Liou – was convicted by a jury in U.S. District Court in Baton Rouge on Feb, 6 and […]

The current pursuit of US gas export terminals contrasts sharply with the situation five years prior, when oil and gas majors actively developed LNG import facilities. This shift is largely attributable to the shale gas revolution.

AMERICAS BP oil leak in Gulf of Mexico – Updates After a series of unsuccessful efforts, BP has made some headway in containing the oil spilling out of a well at a depth of 5,000 feet in the Gulf of Mexico. Following the failed “top kill” operation, BP deployed the lower-marine-riser-package (LMRP) cap containment system, […]

The Wall Street Journal today presented an interesting framework to think about investing in oil. The article takes a rather conservative perspective and suggests that investors should look at oil not for growth but for dividends.  So they consider the super majors a better bet than the independents. While several points in the article are […]

AMERICAS PolyOne and Kautex introduce multilayer TPE technology PolyOne Corp. has introduced technology that allows extrusion blow molders to make co-extruded high-density polyethylene bottles layered with thermoplastic elastomers (TPE). PolyOne’s GLS Thermoplastic Elastomers unit unveiled the technology, which it co-developed with Kautex Maschinenbau GmbH. The new process can be used with traditional or recycled HDPE, […]

AMERICAS U.S plastic bag update U.S. to levy fees on bags from Vietnam, Taiwan, Indonesia The U.S. government plans to impose final duties of up to nearly 96 percent on plastic shopping bags from Indonesia, Vietnam, and Taiwan. The rulings from the Department of Commerce impose specific penalties on 18 companies from Vietnam, two from […]

AMERICAS LyondellBasell Updates LyondellBasell prices USD 2.75 billion senior notes LyondellBasell Industries (LBI) has priced a senior note offering at USD 2.75 billion to support the chemical company’s emergence from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The notes will be issued by LBI Escrow Corp., which will merge into subsidiary Lyondell Chemical Co., as part of Lyondell […]