ICIS - Search Articles by Date : May 16 2005 - May 22 2005

Runcorn sulphuric acid plant is due onstream early next year
Ineos Chlor is investing in a 11 000 tonne/year state-of-the-art ultra-pure sulphuric acid plant, which is scheduled to come onstream in early 2006. more
(16 May 2005 09:51)

NPC unveils 5th five-year plan
The deputy minister of petroleum and president of National Petrochemical Company (NPC) Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh has revealed the first details of.... more
(16 May 2005 09:51)

Chemical profile: Phenol
US PRODUCERSCAPACITY*Dakota Gasification, Beulah, N.D.35Dow, Freeport, Tex.650Georgia Gulf, Pasadena, Tex.[1]160Georgia Gulf, Plaquemine, La.500Ineos.... more
(20 May 2005 20:36)

Dow expands IT infrastructure
Key projects include a new IT center in China and a global rollout for a network conversion for voice, video and distributed processing. Patricia Van.... more
(20 May 2005 20:36)

IT in brief
ISP Upgrades WEB SITE more
(20 May 2005 20:36)

SAP partners with IT giants
SAP AG, the business management software giant, is expanding its partner network to include many of the IT industry’s technology leaders in the.... more
(20 May 2005 20:36)

Asian market is essential for Sabic exports
Asia is the most important market for Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (Sabic), accounting for more than 40 percent of its exports, according to Khaled.... more
(20 May 2005 20:36)

Serono in collaboration pacts
Serono has formed two collaborations with BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. and NovImmune SA for developing several drug candidates. more
(20 May 2005 20:36)

Siegfried buys Penick
Deepening its penetration of the controlled-substance market, the Siegfried Group has paid $30 million to capture Newark, N.J.-based Penick Corp. more
(20 May 2005 20:36)

Tate & Lyle seeks biotech partners
Biotech partnerships are key to chief executive Iain Ferguson’s vision for making Tate & Lyle the world’s leading renewable ingredients business..... more
(20 May 2005 20:36)

DuPont under pressure over Teflon’s safety
The US District Court in Washington, D.C., has subpoenaed DuPont for documents pertaining to perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), an ingredient in the.... more
(20 May 2005 20:36)

Malladi Drugs acquires Novus Fine Chemicals
Novus Fine Chemicals of Carlstadt, N.J., has been bought by Malladi Drugs and Pharmaceuticals, the largest manufacturer of ephedrine and.... more
(20 May 2005 20:36)

Basell: The winner takes it all
Once the dust has finally settled, Access Industries and The Chatterjee Group will have to tackle Basell’s long-term challenges. A report by the ACN.... more
(16 May 2005 09:55)

Down the chute
ACN editor John Richardson sticks his neck out by painting an unremittingly gloomy picture of dark days ahead. The pricing downturn, he warns, has.... more
(16 May 2005 09:56)

Subdued mood at Iran IPF conference
THE MOOD of the seventh Iran Petrochemical Forum (IPF) was dominated by National Petrochemical Co’s (NPC) failed bid for Basell and yet more delays.... more
(16 May 2005 09:54)

NPC keeps acquisitions in mind after close bid
Iran’s National Petrochem­ical Company (NPC) was eyeing up a second company for acquisition at the time of its bid for polyolefins major Basell, the.... more
(16 May 2005 09:52)

After an 18-month high, shipping tankers take a dip
Shipping tanker markets have reaped the benefits of soaring crude oil and commodity prices over the last 18 months. more
(16 May 2005 09:50)

China hit by polyester overcapacity
China has masses of excess polyester capacity that it is unable to utilise because it cannot make any money from its production, says Philip Gibbs,.... more
(16 May 2005 09:53)

Solvay sells industrial films
SOLVAY IS taking another step towards divesting its plastic films activities. Last week, the Belgian group signed a memorandum of understanding.... more
(16 May 2005 11:03)

Tax relief difficulties hinder market acceptance of ETBE
The market for ethyl tertiarybutyl ether (ETBE) is proving slow to get off the ground, with merchant sales practically non-existent and reports of.... more
(20 May 2005 19:49)

Twin strategy in Q2
EUROPEAN POLYAMIDE producers are adopting a twin strategy in order to defend prices and margins in quarter two. more
(20 May 2005 19:49)

Sellers look for Q2 price hike in acetic acid
SECOND QUARTER (Q2) contract discussions are now well under way in the European acetic acid market, with producers confident of further hikes. more
(20 May 2005 19:49)

Saudi on course to supply 10% of petchems
Within the next few years, Saudi Arabia will be producing over 10% of the world’s basic petrochemicals, says Ziyad Al-Shiya, director of new business.... more
(20 May 2005 19:49)

Markets roundup
Commission to extend anti-dumping duties The European Commission has decided that anti-dumping duties imposed on China for silicon exports.... more
(20 May 2005 19:49)

Bioethanol plant in Kazakhstan
Bayer Technology Services (BTS) has been awarded a €4.6m subcontract from Frings Austria of Graz, Austria, for the construction of a bioethanol plant.... more
(20 May 2005 19:49)

White here, white now
The US is overtaking the EU in the race for supremacy in the white biotechnology sector. Unless money is pumped into it, Europe is unlikely to gather.... more
(20 May 2005 19:49)

Positive developments
Investor interest in biotech is returning but the disparity in funding between the US and Europe is a major disadvantage to European companies. Cath.... more
(20 May 2005 19:49)

The future is white
With the discovery of white biotechnology, new production methods promise to improve efficiency while lowering costs, as Dede Williams finds out more
(20 May 2005 19:49)

Gold in them thar’ bugs
Novozymes specialises in enzymes and microorganisms, but the Danish biotech company is also engaged in a little alchemy: turning dust into cash..... more
(20 May 2005 19:49)

Partners in innovation
An alliance between Dow Corning and Genencor is exploring the potential for applications using biotechnology and silicon science. John Baker reports more
(20 May 2005 19:49)

Sifte Berti in ‘disaster recovery’ first
Italy’s Sifte Berti is expanding its facilities to offer a chemical logistics service. Three warehouses are being added at its site in Vercelli,.... more
(20 May 2005 19:49)

Dual takeover boosts expansion
Swiss logistics company Kuehne & Nagel has expanded its overland transport activities with the takeover of two German companies. more
(20 May 2005 19:49)

Work starts on Polish hub
Polish logistics firm Trans-Poludnie has begun construction of a centre in Podgrodzie, southeast Poland, to cater for transport needs between western.... more
(20 May 2005 19:49)

Logistics Watch
PC finds its way The first navigational pocket PC software designed for trucks driving in Germany has been launched by Map&Guide. Information.... more
(20 May 2005 19:49)

Iran’s FPC ups MTP projections
Iran’s Fanavaran Petrochemical Co plans to build a 150 000 tonne/year vinyl acetate monomer plant and is also progressing work on a 100 000.... more
(20 May 2005 19:49)

M&G’s Brazil PET plant will be world’s biggest
Mossi & Ghisolfi is building a 450 000 tonne/year polyethylene terephthalate plant in Pernambuco, northeast Brazil (ECN 9 January). more
(20 May 2005 19:49)

$25m on five year plan
Israeli agrochemicals producer Makhteshim Agan is to invest $25m over the next five years on expanding two production plants in Brazil. more
(20 May 2005 19:49)

Projects Watch
CO2 recovery licence is granted to IFFCO Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) has agreed to license its carbon dioxide (CO2) recovery technology to.... more
(20 May 2005 19:49)

Yara evaluates phosphate rock mine
Norway’s agrochemicals company Yara has entered into a 50:50 joint venture with Brazilian fertiliser company Bunge to evaluate the feasibility of.... more
(20 May 2005 19:49)

Date set for Ras Laffan study
ExxonMobil Chemical and Qatar Petroleum have agreed to complete a feasibility study and finalise key parameters by mid-July 2005 for a world-scale.... more
(20 May 2005 19:49)

New Project Watch
OMV plans €260m pipeline expansion The Austrian energy and chemicals group OMV is planning a €260m expansion of its West Austria Gaspipeline.... more
(20 May 2005 19:49)

Technip sets a date for Sabic’s Yanbu cracker
Technip has said that the cracker it is building for Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) at Yanbu, on Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast, is.... more
(20 May 2005 19:49)

Environment Watch
EU Ecolabel could be used on lubricants Companies that sell lubricants such as hydraulic oil, two stroke oils and greases, can now apply for an.... more
(20 May 2005 19:49)

20 years ago
27 May 1985 more
(20 May 2005 19:49)

Business roundup
Rhodia rejects motion Rhodia’s board unanimously recommended that shareholders oppose resolutions at the company’s annual general meeting on 23.... more
(20 May 2005 19:49)

Bayer chemicals price fix: executive faces jail term
A former executive of Bayer has agreed to plead guilty, go to jail and pay a fine for his involvement in an international conspiracy to fix rubber.... more
(20 May 2005 19:49)

Kemira sells its fertiliser stakes
Kemira has sold its remaining 14.6% stake in fertiliser company Kemira GrowHow for €50.1m last week. more
(20 May 2005 19:49)

LME presses on with polymer futures launch
The London Metal Exchange (LME) launches its plastics futures market on 27 May with support from just five polymer producers. more
(20 May 2005 19:49)

Texas City BP fire due to ‘disturbing mistakes’
BP says the 23 March explosion and fire that killed 15 contract workers and injured more than 170 people at its Texas City, Texas, US, refinery was.... more
(20 May 2005 19:49)

Germany approves salary disclosure bill
Germany’s federal cabinet last week approved the justice ministry’s draft law requiring stock market-listed companies to disclose salaries of.... more
(20 May 2005 19:49)