Industry: Upstream and E&P

Total and Saudi Aramco consider the construction of a petrochemicals complex in Saudi Arabia Saudi Aramco and Total are planning to proceed with a previously announced refining and petrochemical project at Al Jubail, Saudi Arabia. The decision follows a comprehensive, joint front-end engineering and design study launched two years ago. The refinery will have a […]

My Turn – Dr. Balaji B. Singh – The year for Specialty Polyolefins SPO-FlexPO2008, June 25-27, 2008 Houston/Galveston, TX Comments: The start of the New Year heralds a new race for Specialty and value-added polyolefins. Chemical Market Resources focused on technology and value-added polyolefins since 1990 and has conducted over 40 multiclient studies on various […]

Basell to acquire Solvay Engineered Polymers, Inc. Basell, the global leader in advanced polyolefins, announced that it has signed a definitive agreement with Solvay by which Basell will acquire Solvay Engineered Polymers, Inc., a leading supplier of polypropylene compounds in North America. The transaction is subject to relevant regulatory approvals and is expected to close […]

My Turn – Dr. Balaji B. Singh – Specialties are Special The advanced nations with low projected polyolefins growth, the Middle East/China the future commodity players, ASEAN countries who are worried about the future impact of Chinese imports – everyone alike is focusing on specialties. Specialties as a means of product differentiation via innovation, R&D, […]

My Turn – Commentary on Global Polyolefins and Elastomers –The Shift of Basic R&D to India and China – Dr. Balaji B. Singh Chemical Market Resources Inc. just completed the FlexPO2006 conference in Singapore. The conference was a roaring success. After the last four years of languishing in depressing North American polyolefins prospects, no innovations, […]

My Turn – Commentary on Global Polyolefins and Elastomers – Dr. Balaji B. Singh Disappearing Giants of Polyolefins and Elastomers – With the recent disappearance of Amoco-BP-Innovene, another giant bit the dust. The difference this time – Innovene a much-tooted polyolefins spin-off of BP-Amoco did not even survive the first anniversary of their inauguration. We […]

Westlake announces third-quarter earnings Westlake Chemical Corporation reported a net income of $43.5 million and income from operations of $70.1 million on net sales of $605.4 million for the third quarter of 2005. This compares favorably with the third quarter 2004 net income of $28.3 million and income from operations of $68.9 million on net […]

BP’s petrochemical subsidiary Innovene files for $1 billion IPO The petrochemical subsidiary of BP Plc, Innovene Inc., has registered for an initial public offering (IPO) on the New York Stock Exchange to raise $1 billion. In 2004, BP decided that it would either sell or float the business. According to the company’s IPO document – […]

Innovene and Delta Oil to explore petrochemical investment in Saudi Arabia Innovene, BP’s petrochemicals and refining subsidiary, and Delta International, a leading Saudi-owned independent development company, announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for a major investment in Saudi Arabia’s petrochemical sector. The memorandum marks the beginning of negotiations between Innovene and Delta […]

Chemicals & polyolefins producers and other companies report positive fourth-quarter earnings Dow Chemical Dow Chemical announced its fourth-quarter earnings. The company had a total sales for the fourth quarter of 2004 of $10.9 billion, up 31% compared to 4Q 2003. Overall 2004 sales increased to $40.2 billion, 23% higher than in 2003 and a new […]

Nizhnekamskneftekhim selects Spherilene process for new LDPE/HDPE plant Nizhnekamskneftekhim announced the selection of Basell’s Spherilene® polyethylene technology for a new 230 KT per year plant to produce linear low-density and high-density polyethylene. The plant is to be built in Nizhnekamsk, Republic of Tatarstan, Russia, with a start-up planned for 2007. According to Basell, the new […]

Borealis joint venture Borouge to expand polyethylene capacity to 580,000 MT/year Borouge, Borealis’ joint venture with ADNOC has announced its plans to expand its existing Borstar capacity and that is considering further expansion to form a world-scale petrochemical complex at Ruwais, Abu Dhabi in the UAE. Building on the successful start-up and first two years […]