AMERICAS  Synthos to build Nd-PBR plant  Synthos will be investing in a USD 170 million synthetic rubber plant at Triunfo, Brazil. The plant will produce neodiyum catalyzed polybutadiene (Nd-PBR) rubber based on Michelin’s technology. The raw material for the plant will be supplied by Braskem. The plant will have a capacity of 80 KTA and […]

AMERICAS  Westlake to place ethylene assets in limited partnership  Westlake Chemical plans to place its ethylene assets into a separately traded limited partnership. Westlake Chemical Partners LP, will own two ethylene facilities at Lake Charles, LA, one ethylene unit at Calvert City, KY and an ethylene pipeline that runs from Mont Belvieu, TX to Westlake’s […]

March 26, 2014 – The Australian Financial Review quoted ADI Analytics in its story on the Jordan Cove LNG project approval by the U.S. Department of Energy.  In addition to citing ADI Analytics’ estimates of LNG shipping costs, the Australian Financial Review also quoted our firm’s senior consultant and CEO, Uday Turaga, to provide expert […]

ADI Analytics recently shared insights on gas-to-liquids (GTL) projects at the SMi GTL Conference in Houston. The presentation covered cost reduction and economic improvement for North American GTL projects. Traditional large-scale GTL projects in North America face tough competition. They struggle to compete economically with LNG export projects. High capital costs significantly impact their returns. […]

AMERICAS Repsol licenses CPChem metallocene technology Repsol has licensed the technology for producing metallocene polyethylene from Chevron Phillips Chemical. The technology will be implemented at Repsol’s site in Tarragona, Spain. At Tarragona, Repsol currently can produce 150 KTA of HDPE and 130 KTA of LDPE. Comments: The move by Repsol to be the first licensee […]

AMERICAS Dow Chemical moving ahead with polyethylene projects Dow Chemical is moving ahead with plans to add capacity for polyethylene and related feedstock in the U.S. Gulf Coast and Saudi Arabia. The first units of Sadara, Dow’s joint venture with Saudi Aramco in Jubail, are expected to be on-stream in 2015. Sadara will have a […]

AMERICAS Dow to build R&D facility in Texas Dow Chemical plans to build a new R&D facility at Lake Jackson, TX, near its largest manufacturing site at Freeport, TX. The Texas Innovation Center will house laboratory facilities and technical expertise centers to enable ongoing innovation that supports the commercialization of solutions across high-growth end-use markets […]

AMERICAS Axiall partners with Lotte for a cracker Axiall and Lotte Chemical have signed a preliminary agreement for a 50/50 joint venture for the construction of a 1,000 KTA ethane cracker in Louisiana. The cracker, which would be fed by shale gas, could begin operations in 2018, subject to the project approval by the companies’ […]

AMERICAS Kraton Performance Polymers to merge with SB copolymers unit of LCY Chemical Corp Kraton Performance Polymers Inc. is merging with the styrenic block copolymers business of LCY Chemical Corp to create a new materials firm, which will have annual sales of over USD 2 billion. LCY is the third largest SBC producer with plants […]

India’s refining industry is an interesting study in contrasts.  On the one hand, the country boasts of one of the largest grassroots, greenfield refinery ever built in recent times – Reliance Industries Limited’s Jamnagar refinery, whose capacity is 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) and has one of the highest “complexities” of any refinery.  Complexity, […]

AMERICAS Nova starts petrochemical utilization of Marcellus shale NOVA Chemicals has started the consumption of ethane sourced from Marcellus Shale Basin at its Corunna, Ontario cracker. NOVA initiated the consumption of the new feedstock in late December 2013, as a part of the project to revamp its Corunna, Ontario cracker to utilize up to 100% […]

AMERICAS Axiall chooses Louisiana for the cracker and derivatives project Axiall has chosen Louisiana for a USD 3 billion ethane cracker and derivatives plant. Axiall is considering potential partners for this project in which Axiall expects to invest about USD 1 billion. The new plant could begin operations in 2018. Comments: Axiall, formed after the […]