ICIS - Search Articles by Date : August 07 2006 - August 13 2006

The race for ethanol domination
Growing demand for ethanols is having a big impact on the world's biofuels landsacpe more
(11 August 2006 16:47)

Canada waffles on Kyoto, but chemicals industry presses ahead
CANADA'S Conservative minority government under Prime Minister Stephen Harper, which took office in January, has repeatedly said the country will be.... more
(11 August 2006 16:47)

ICIS radio: Chemical News Central: 11 August 2006
RSS        Air Products   more
(11 August 2006 14:38)

NEW PROJECTS REPORTED by ICIS 31 July-13 AUGUST 2006
NEW PROJECTS REPORTED by ICIS 31 July-13 AUGUST 2006 more
(11 August 2006 16:47)

ADM builds in Brazil
Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) plans to build a 180 000 tonne/year biodiesel plant in Rondonopolis, Mato Grosso, Brazil. more
(11 August 2006 16:47)

The birds - be prepared!
With the bulk of human deaths from bird flu occurring in Asia, pharmaceutical companies are doubling up their efforts in R&D to develop diagnostic.... more
(11 August 2006 16:47)

Waste gets the cold shoulder
German researchers have come up with a quicker route to remove radioactive waste - by cooling it to temperatures similar to those of a standard.... more
(11 August 2006 16:47)

Uncertainty fuels styrene hike
Shell's force majeure at its Ellba facility in the Netherlands, and uncertainty following the sudden upsurge in crude oil prices, has taken styrene.... more
(11 August 2006 16:47)

Power stations kicked into touch
Europe's fossil-fuelled power stations are set for a radical overhaul in a bid to reduce their emissions levels to zero by the year 2030, according.... more
(11 August 2006 16:47)

Mixed bag for Q2
Swiss speciality chemicals group Clariant blames restructuring charges, and higher energy, logistics and raw materials costs for its sharp 46% drop.... more
(11 August 2006 16:47)

Alchemists to the rescue
MODERN-DAY alchemists now claim that they can turn landfill waste into diesel fuel. more
(11 August 2006 16:47)

Chemical Profile Ammonium nitrate
Uses Ammonium nitrate (AN) is largely used as a fertiliser, either applied directly or mixed with phosphates and potash. It is also used in nitrogen.... more
(11 August 2006 16:47)

$12.1bn investment
Petrobras plans to spend $12.1bn on operations outside of Brazil, between 2007 and 2011, which is $5.4bn more than the 2006-10 plan had foreseen. more
(11 August 2006 16:47)

In this week
ECN 11 August 1986 more
(11 August 2006 16:47)

THINK TANK
Where will all the chemicals go if the Chinese economy tanks? China's soaring first-half growth has once again revealed the risky business of.... more
(11 August 2006 16:47)

IN BRIEF Europe Watch
Borsodchem profits up 30% in first half For the first half to 30 June, BorsodChem posted an operating profit of Forint12.6bn (€46m/$59m), up 30%.... more
(11 August 2006 16:47)

EU Insider
In competition, Europe edges closer to the US The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has brought the EU and US legal systems closer together with a.... more
(11 August 2006 16:47)

THE VIEW FROM CHINA
FALLING STANDARDS FUELS BLOW UP Faced with serious environmental degradation across parts of the country, China's environmental watchdog could be.... more
(11 August 2006 16:47)

Washington Insider
US chemicals resilient in second quarter US petrochemicals production fell 5.5% in the second quarter compared with the same period last year, but.... more
(11 August 2006 16:47)

IN BRIEF Ameicas Watch
JOINT VENTURE CEASES AS CYTEC TAKES HELM Cytec Industries and DSM have dissolved their 20-year old, 50:50 American Melamine Industries joint venture. more
(11 August 2006 16:47)

IN BRIEF Correction
In the 'Formic Acid Profile' of 24 July, Chemplan would like to clarify that, as Samsung owns Korea Fertiliser, its total capacity at Ulsan, South.... more
(11 August 2006 16:47)

GIBSON'S GRAPEVINE
ALTERNATIVES COULD get virgin treatment more
(11 August 2006 16:47)

Spotlight on safety performance
The UK Environment Agency's 2005 Spotlight Report has indicated that the UK's chemical sector has improved its environmental performance compared.... more
(11 August 2006 16:47)

QUOTES OF THE WEEK
"Our outlook for the full year for chemicals is a sales increase, due to higher petrochemical prices" more
(11 August 2006 16:47)

COMMENT
China's big, bad and ugly The stories this week about counterfeit goods produced with counterfeit chemicals (opposite) and environmental protection.... more
(11 August 2006 16:47)

Nippon buys paints
Nippon Paint will acquire the majority of Rohm and Haas' (R&H) automotive coatings business for $230m. more
(11 August 2006 16:47)

Orders beat summer lull
Caprolactam looks set to overcome the traditional summer lull this year, with customers still placing regular orders through July and August. more
(11 August 2006 16:47)

5-Minute Market Watch
LME LOOKS TO IMPROVE PLASTICS CONTRACTS The London Metal Exchange (LME) has taken further steps to make its plastics futures contracts more.... more
(11 August 2006 16:47)

5-Minute Project Watch
Dow epoxy invests $200m in China Dow Epoxy plans to invest more than $200m over the next five years in R&D facilities in China. more
(11 August 2006 16:47)

Dow tackles safety
Dow Chemical has committed to developing technologies that will provide 'safer, more sustainable water supplies for communities around the world.' more
(11 August 2006 16:47)

Rise demand to lift Braskem
Brazilian thermoplastic resins major Braskem is optimistic about a recovery, after increased feedstock costs and energy prices hit second quarter.... more
(11 August 2006 16:47)

How long before oil prices finally tip the barrel?
There is growing sentiment that the US and global economies could keep barrelling along even if oil tops $100/bbl. But some analysts in the US.... more
(11 August 2006 16:47)

PPG expands globally
PPG Industries has acquired US architectural paint and coatings manufacturer Spectra-Tone and reached agreement to buy Australian firm Protec. Terms.... more
(11 August 2006 16:47)

Lunhua signs China coal-to-chemical deals
Lanhua Group has signed agreements with three foreign companies for joint venture coal-to-chemical projects in China. more
(11 August 2006 16:47)

Demand boosts Japanese profits
Japanese chemical companies largely performed better in the first quarter of 2006 than in the same period of 2005, boosted by improved domestic and.... more
(11 August 2006 16:47)

Sovcomflot/Novoship tanker jv
Russia's twO largest shipping firms, Sovcomflot and Novoship, have jointly acquired Spanish chemical tanker firm Marpetrol. more
(11 August 2006 16:47)

US approves POPs/PIC
The US House Agricultural Committee has approved the implementation of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) and the.... more
(11 August 2006 16:47)

Loos wants 'prepared' France
France's industry minister François Loos wants to ensure that French chemical companies 'are the best prepared in Europe for the application of.... more
(11 August 2006 16:47)

Bayer joins forces in DFF with Nufarm
Bayer CropScience and Nufarm have entered into a long-term supply and distribution agreement covering diflufenican (DFF) and DFF-based products in.... more
(11 August 2006 16:47)

China's state watchdog takes the hard line
China's environmental watchdog has set up 11 branch offices to tackle escalating environmental degradation, which has been attributed in part to a.... more
(11 August 2006 16:47)

China battles with counterfeit goods
Authorities in Beijing have admitted that piracy and counterfeiting is still a big problem in China. more
(11 August 2006 16:47)

Industry responds to terror threats
The closure of London's Heathrow Airport to incoming flights, and heightened security checks for passengers already at the airport, last week.... more
(11 August 2006 16:47)

Calik Enerji/Indian Oil to build complex
Turkey's Calik Enerji is teaming up with Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) to build a $4.9bn refinery-cum-petrochemicals complex to take advantage of.... more
(11 August 2006 16:47)

Energy cut-down challenge falters
China's challenge to raise energy efficiency is faltering, according to a new report. more
(11 August 2006 16:47)

Growth is priority, says Sabic Europe
Sabic Europe has signed an agreement with Dutch firm Nijhof Wassink to provide logistic services for a new warehouse to be built in Kutno, Poland. more
(11 August 2006 16:47)

The cap won't budge
Taiwanese petrochemical companies hoping to expand in China have been dealt a blow after the government ruled it would not raise a cap on investments. more
(11 August 2006 16:47)

Barnes buys Farnell division
Barnes Group has completed the acquisition of Premier Farnell's Kent division for $41m. more
(11 August 2006 16:47)

Linde secures $900m air separation contract
LINDE has won a $900m turnkey contract to supply air separation plants for the Pearl gas-to-liquids (GTL) project, which has just received a final.... more
(11 August 2006 16:47)

Oil Hikes will affect this year's profit levels
High energy costs and raw materials prices could continue to dampen earnings in the second half of the year, US chemicals producers have warned. more
(11 August 2006 16:47)

Jv studies fertiliser feasibility
Venezuela's Pequiven and Russia's Azot have signed a memorandum of understanding for a feasibility study into the building of a $1-1.2bn fertiliser.... more
(11 August 2006 16:47)