ICIS - Search Articles by Date : January 03 2005 - January 09 2005

Chemistry: why bother?
This is not the Christmas hangover speaking. It is a call to one and all to look for new ways of approaching the perennial problems of innovation.... more
(07 January 2005 16:09)

Companies dig deep for tsunami
Businesses of all sizes within the chemical industry have offered cash, supplies and expertise to help with aid efforts in the regions affected by.... more
(07 January 2005 16:09)

Industrial Specialties Pricing
Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has, as of January 1, increased global prices for dimethylcyclohexylamine by 5c. per pound; dimethylaminopropylamine.... more
(07 January 2005 21:22)

Chemical Industry Pledges Tsunami Relief
The chemical industry is not standing aside in what has rapidly become the largest fundraising effort in world history. A host of chemical companies.... more
(07 January 2005 21:22)

SDA Defends Safety of Triclosan
A recent report from the activist group, Beyond Pesticides, attacking the safety of key antibacterial ingredient triclosan found in some consumer.... more
(07 January 2005 21:22)

New projects summary
As reported in ACN 20 December 2004-9 January 2005 more
(07 January 2005 14:32)

Counting the cost of tragedy
In the wake of the tsunami, the countries affected will need aid for many years to come, but maintaining the flow of aid may prove difficult. John.... more
(07 January 2005 14:32)

Easing the pain
The Asian chemical industry suffered little damage in the Asian tsunami disaster. Many companies are now rallying round to donate funds and assist in.... more
(07 January 2005 14:32)

Market Trends: Butadiene softens
Prices drop as Chinese customers hold out against high offers, with some cutting operating rates. Naphtha falls on weak market fundamentals more
(07 January 2005 14:32)

Reliance: who is in control?
IS THE vice-chairman of Reliance Industries, Anil Ambani, fighting a losing battle against his older brother Mukesh, the chairman of the company? more
(07 January 2005 14:32)

Specialities roundup
BAYER has completed the Euro2.38bn (US$3.24bn) purchase of Roche’s over-the-counter (OTC) consumer health business. The deal covers the global.... more
(07 January 2005 14:32)

Piramal break-up ‘totally untrue’
MEDIA reports of a split in the family that runs one of India’s most prominent business conglomerates, the Piramal Group, are ‘totally untrue’, ACN.... more
(07 January 2005 14:32)

Shin-Etsu to give 300mm wafer output a US$1bn boost
SHIN-ETSU Chemical is to invest about US$1bn in expanding its 300mm silicon wafer production capacity in Fukushima, Japan, and in building a new.... more
(07 January 2005 14:32)

Meti finalises safety review
JAPAN’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (Nisa) has completed a review of the system of approved safety self-inspections for the country’s.... more
(07 January 2005 14:32)

Elion, Huayi in PVC joint venture
SHANGHAI Huayi Group has replaced Guangzhou Zhongkexin Group as the partner for Elion Resources Group’s polyvinyl chloride (PVC) project in Erdos,.... more
(07 January 2005 14:32)

Market Trends: Benzene up by $190
Asian benzene prices strengthen in response to high US prices and rise in crude costs. Toluene, styrene, and orthoxylene also gain ground more
(07 January 2005 14:32)

Junma plans caprolactam unit
JUNMA Tyre Cord Co is considering building a 200 000 tonne/year caprolactam facility in Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu, China. more
(07 January 2005 14:32)

Kingboard eyes fertilisers
KINGBOARD Chemical Holdings plans to build facilities to produce ammonia, urea, and nitrogen phosphorus potassium (NPK) in Xining, Qinghai, China. more
(07 January 2005 14:32)

Yanzhou opts for GE technology
YANZHOU Coal Mining Co has selected GE Energy’s coal-gasification technology for its methanol project in Yulin, Shaanxi, China, according to a.... more
(07 January 2005 14:32)

Approval likely for Sinopec’s Yanhua buyout
SINOPEC’s buyout of Beijing Yanhua Petrochemical’s shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange is likely to be approved by Yanhua’s minority shareholders,.... more
(07 January 2005 14:32)

PTT gets approval for PDH-PP project
PTT Pcl has obtained approval from Thailand’s Board of Investment for its propane dehydrogenation-polypropylene (PDH-PP) project in Mab Ta Phut,.... more
(07 January 2005 14:32)

GSFC mulls methanol plant in Baroda
GUJARAT State Fertilizers & Chemicals (GSFC) is considering building a 130 000 tonne/year methanol plant in Baroda, Gujarat, India, the company’s.... more
(07 January 2005 14:32)

BASF-YPC considering C2 expansion
BASF-YPC is considering expanding the capacity of its 600 000 tonne/year cracker project after it comes onstream, said a source close to the company. more
(07 January 2005 14:32)

Ming Dih set on EPS plant
MING Dih Group is building a 70 000 tonne/year expandable polystyrene (EPS) plant in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, a company source told ACN. more
(07 January 2005 14:32)

CGPC postpones PVC venture
CHINA General Plastics Corp (CGPC) has postponed indefinitely its polyvinyl chloride (PVC) project in China owing to feedstock-cost constraints, a.... more
(07 January 2005 14:32)

Yubei builds NH3/methanol plant
YUBEI Chemical is to build a 100 000 tonne/year coal-based ammonia plant integrated with a 50 000 tonne/year methanol facility in Weihui,.... more
(07 January 2005 14:32)

Gaoqiao plans phenol-acetone
GAOQIAO Petrochemical plans to build a 500 000 tonne/year phenol-acetone plant that would offtake propylene feedstock from a proposed second cracker.... more
(07 January 2005 14:32)

Global roundup
From stories supplied by the CNI and ACN teams. more
(07 January 2005 14:32)

Indian polymer demand to fall
INDIAN demand for key polymers is expected to show negative growth in the fiscal year 2004-05 because of the inability of the downstream industry to.... more
(07 January 2005 14:32)

Polymer Trends: PS prices set to rise
The seasonal lull has seen prices soften but producers are optimistic there will be a gentle market revival. China’s tariff cuts strengthen sentiment.... more
(07 January 2005 14:32)

VCM drops on weak demand
ASIAN vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) prices were expected to decrease by US$20-30/tonne in the coming weeks on account of weak demand. more
(07 January 2005 14:32)

Better times for PS producers?
ASIAN polystyrene (PS) producers were optimistic that their margins would improve in the coming weeks, with PS prices finally set to rise after.... more
(07 January 2005 14:32)

ACP badly timed, say players
THE decision by Nippon Petrochemicals Co (NPCC) to launch its benzene Asian Contract Price in December was badly timed, market players told ACN last.... more
(07 January 2005 14:32)

Tariff boost for lldPE imports
AN UNFORESEEN 50% reduction in China’s import tariffs to 6.5% this year for linear low-density polyethylene (lldPE) may lead to a rise in imports and.... more
(07 January 2005 14:32)

Strong euro spurs S Korean hdPE exports
INCREASING price resistance from Chinese buyers has prompted South Korean polyethylene (PE) producers to step up their high-density PE (hdPE) exports.... more
(07 January 2005 14:32)

Industry survives in Thailand
Thailand’s petrochemical industry will be minimally affected by the devastation caused by the earthquake and tidal waves in Southeast Asia, say.... more
(07 January 2005 16:09)

Urea outage
Indonesian state-owned fertiliser producer PT Pupuk Iskandar Muda said its plant at Lhokseumawe in the Indonesian province of Aceh had suffered.... more
(07 January 2005 16:09)

Holocaust fund validity upheld
Germany’s supreme court, the Bundesverfassungs-gericht, has rejected an appeal by four former labourers at IG Farben’s Monowitz concentration camp to.... more
(07 January 2005 16:09)

Celanese European offer extended, US launch begins
Celanese Corporation, the new US-based holding for the chemical group’s worldwide activities, has filed its intention to sell 50m shares of common.... more
(07 January 2005 16:09)

Lanxess flotation date set as cost cuts take effect
Bayer has set 31 January as the start of trading for its new chemicals spin-off, Lanxess, on the Frankfurt stock exchange. more
(07 January 2005 16:09)

Waste site blasts: evacuation
About 2000 residents of El Dorado, Arkansas, US, were evacuated on 2 January after a fire and explosions at the town’s Teris hazardous waste.... more
(07 January 2005 16:09)

Nuplex completes purchase
Akzo Nobel Coating Resins became Nuplex Industries on 31 December 2004. This follows the initial takeover announcement on 15 October 2004. more
(07 January 2005 16:09)

Media reports slammed as control battle continues
The battle for control of Reliance Industries, India’s largest privately held company with significant chemical interests, is hotting up as brothers.... more
(07 January 2005 16:09)

DuPont Dow Elastamers is stretched to the limit
DuPont and Dow Chemical are to dissolve their almost-decade old 50:50 rubber joint venture DuPont Dow Elastomers on 30 June. The business has failed.... more
(07 January 2005 16:09)

Markets in brief
BP to close plant BP has announced plans to close its linear alpha olefin (LAO) production facility in Pasadena, Texas, by the end of the year..... more
(07 January 2005 16:09)

Production rates up on 2003
Chlorine production in western Europe totalled 820 405 tonne in November, a 5.5% increase compared with the same period last year. more
(07 January 2005 16:09)

Spolchemie plant ‘world’s best’
Spolchemie’s 70 000 tonne/year epoxy resin plant at Usti nad Labem in the Czech Republic, has been started up successfully, producing 30 000 tonne of.... more
(07 January 2005 16:09)

Bulk chemical prices
European Q4 2003-Q1 2005 quarterly and monthly contracts, euro/tonne.... more
(07 January 2005 16:09)

Shipping unaffected as most ports reopen
Chemical ship owners have apparently continued to ply their trade as normal following the disaster sparked by last month’s earthquake off Indonesia’s.... more
(07 January 2005 16:09)

Rotterdam reveals new ceo
The new ceo of the Port of Rotterdam has been named as Hans Smits. more
(07 January 2005 16:09)