ICIS - Search Articles by Date : February 03 2003 - February 09 2003

New projects summary
As reported in ECN on 27 January and 3 February more
(07 February 2003 12:15)

US cracker margins set to rise
US cracker operating rates will improve significantly in the second quarter as a result of planned maintenance turnarounds, according to Lehman.... more
(07 February 2003 12:15)

Product profile: urea
The recovery of Yuzhnyy pricing in late 2002 was backed by increased exports to the US and, more recently, by strong feedstock costs. Restructuring.... more
(07 February 2003 12:15)

News in brief
Polymer pairing Finland's Algol Group and its Swedish subsidiary Bjorn Fredlund have been awarded sole distribution rights for Scott.... more
(07 February 2003 12:15)

Let's capitalise on chemistry's potential
This year, Germany is celebrating the 'Year of Chemistry'. The year, however, has started with, at best, subdued optimism more
(07 February 2003 12:15)

25 years ago
      20 years ago ECN 7 February 1983 Europe's simmering alcohol war has boiled into.... more
(07 February 2003 12:15)

People on the move
Arnaud The French arm of chemical distribution company Azelis has appointed a new president, Remi Magniere. The company said Magniere will.... more
(07 February 2003 12:15)

News in brief
Diagnostic licence California, US-based Affymetrix has granted Roche access to its patented GeneChip disease diagnostics technology..... more
(07 February 2003 12:15)

News in brief
Biovian MBO born Biotie Therapies of Turku, Finland, has sold its process development and production unit to Biovian Ltd, which is owned.... more
(07 February 2003 12:15)

News in brief
HSE guidelines The UK's Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is set to issue new guidance later this year to help employers investigate.... more
(07 February 2003 12:15)

Market trends: Paraxylene reaches new high point
Paraxylene values continue to shoot upwards, reaching $905-930/tonne fob NWE, following force majeure at one of Veba Oel's sites. Orthoxylene prices.... more
(07 February 2003 12:15)

Ecopetrol moves forward
Ecopetrol's refinery project in Colombia has moved ahead with the recent contract award to Technip-Coflexip more
(07 February 2003 12:15)

Sulphur glut causes imbalance
Unless the sulphur industry develops new markets or expands existing ones quickly, global supplies could exceed demand by 5m tonne/year by 2010, more.... more
(07 February 2003 12:15)

Hungary's TVK cuts PP supply
Hungary's TVK has cut polypropylene (PP) production and supplies to customers by as much as 30% due to propylene feedstock supply problems from its.... more
(07 February 2003 12:15)

News in brief
PP unit studied Brazilian producer Polibrasil is evaluating an additional new polypropylene (PP) plant, potentially in Maua, Sao Paulo,.... more
(07 February 2003 12:15)

PDVSA steps up output as dispute loses ground
After weeks of paralysis, Venezuela's petrochemical sector is hoping that operations may resume some time in March, once the oil industry is back in.... more
(07 February 2003 12:15)

French site is upgraded
Albemarle, based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, US, is expanding its research and kilo laboratories and pilot plant at its Thann, France, facility. more
(07 February 2003 12:15)

Simon says
Welcoming its new owner, Patron Capital, Simon Storage said that it is business as usual for the company. more
(07 February 2003 12:15)

Styrene plant contract granted
ABB Lummus Global has been awarded a basic engineering and technology contract from Chevron Phillips Chemical (CPChem) and Saudi Industrial.... more
(07 February 2003 12:15)

IBM helps industry stay secure
IBM has signed up to help the chemicals sector cyber-security information sharing forum (Forum) in a bid to standardise online security. more
(07 February 2003 12:15)

Drug discovery firm builds on alliances
Evotec OAI has reported revenue for 2002 increased by 10% to E69.5m. more
(07 February 2003 12:15)

Sinopec to assess viability of e-procurement system
China Petrochemical International has received a grant from the US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) for a US company to develop a feasibility.... more
(07 February 2003 12:15)

China is third largest market, says Ciba
Switzerland's Ciba Specialty Chemicals says China has become its third largest market after the US and Germany, with sales up 13% there during 2002.... more
(07 February 2003 12:15)

Furthering the reach
Borealis will extend its distribution agreement with Ashland from 1 March more
(07 February 2003 12:15)

MTO know-how goes to Nigeria
Norsk Hydro and UOP are providing their jointly developed methanol-to-olefins (MTO) technology to Eurochem Technologies more
(07 February 2003 12:15)

PET suffers a cruel month as raw material costs jump
Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) producers had a 'terrible month' in January, as proposed European price increases came to nothing and raw materials.... more
(07 February 2003 12:15)

Finnish firm gets OK
The European Commission has approved plans by Finland's Hankkija-Maatalous to take a one-third stake in agricultural logistics specialist Movere more
(07 February 2003 12:15)

Niro creates purer process
Niro Process Technology (NPT) has successfully obtained ultra-pure para-dichlorobenzene (p-DCB) using its proven crystallisation and separation.... more
(07 February 2003 12:15)

Council lambasts cancer scare advertisement in US
The American Chemistry Council (ACC) has slammed an advertisement taken out in the New York Times, by US-based environmental research organisation.... more
(07 February 2003 12:15)

DSM spins off soil remediation
DSM has transferred its soil remediation technology PuriSoil to a new spin-out company Terreco. more
(07 February 2003 12:15)

Lyondell stays upbeat on 2003
Lyondell Chemical hopes to bounce back from a tough end to 2002 during the second quarter of this year, but needs to see global energy markets settle.... more
(07 February 2003 12:15)

Syntroleum kicks-off more efficient ARU gas reactor
Syntroleum last week announced the successful startup of a 3 bbl/day advanced reactor unit (ARU), which is claimed to provide improved efficiency more
(07 February 2003 12:15)

WWF/EEB in support
The European and US chemical industries have spent too long criticising Europe's chemicals White Paper instead of looking at the benefits it will.... more
(07 February 2003 12:15)

Prices soar in short PX market
Paraxylene (PX) spot prices have more than doubled since December, having gathered momentum in January more
(07 February 2003 12:15)

Sasol agrees Iran deal, awards Qatar GTL
Sasol Polymers Germany, a division of South Africa-based Sasol, has signed an agreement with Iran's National Petrochemical (NPC) more
(07 February 2003 12:15)

NPC issues Kharg Island tender
Iran's National Petrochemical (NPC) will issue tender documents shortly for the engineering and procurement contract for an integrated.... more
(07 February 2003 12:15)

US firms look ahead
Solutia, the US nylon producer, is anticipating that uncertain economic conditions will remain in its market places for the foreseeable future, and.... more
(07 February 2003 12:15)

Aventis reveals divestment strategy and ends Bayer jv
Aventis will continue to divest non-core activities, including its stakes in Wacker (49%), Clariant (12%) and Dystar (35%), so it can focus more.... more
(07 February 2003 12:15)

A steady rise for metallocene
US demand for metallocene and single-site polymers is to expand by more than 20%/year to 2.18m tonne in 2006, according to consultancy Freedonia more
(07 February 2003 12:15)

Transgene inks licence deal
Strasbourg, France-based biopharmaceuticals company Transgene has signed a non-exclusive licence agreement with Merck & Co. more
(07 February 2003 12:15)

Rhodia targets environment
Rhodia has made a cultural change within the group to make it more environmentally aware, said chief executive officer and chairman Jean-Pierre.... more
(07 February 2003 12:15)

Rhodia earnings up despite sales fall
Rhodia achieved its key commitments for 2002, said chief executive officer and chairman Jean-Pierre Tirouflet at the company's results presentation more
(07 February 2003 12:15)

Bayer/Aventis deal falls through
Bayer and Aventis have buried plans to merge their blood plasma businesses, saying that final agreement on the terms could not be reached more
(07 February 2003 12:15)

Celanese: no comment on takeover bid
Celanese has declined to comment on rumours that a private equity firm has made an informal takeover bid for the company of E27 per share - a 50%.... more
(07 February 2003 12:15)

Strikers fired by PDVSA
With the strike at Venezuela's state-owned energy company Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA) still holding firm, the company has dismissed 236.... more
(07 February 2003 12:15)

Tupras Oil sale may pave way for Petkim
Turkey's plans to sell off a greater share of its Tupras oil refinery this spring may make it easier for the government to sell its majority stake in.... more
(07 February 2003 12:15)

Work to start on new unit
Private Saudi Arabian company National Polypropylene plans to invest $533m to build a new polypropylene plant at Al Jubail. more
(07 February 2003 12:15)

Akzo Nobel gives up fight
Akzo Nobel has given up the fight to stop generic competition in the US for one of its biggest selling drugs, the anti-depressant Remeron more
(07 February 2003 12:15)

MG to delay sale of Solvadis
German engineering firm MG Technologies has shelved plans to sell its chemical distribution arm Solvadis after failing to agree a price with.... more
(07 February 2003 12:15)

News in brief
Parties eye IFI Interest in buying up the assets of Irish Fertilizer Industries (IFI) on a break up basis has come from parties in China,.... more
(07 February 2003 12:15)