ICIS - Search Articles by Date : August 16 2004 - August 22 2004

Logistics in brief
TRG gets $16m loan The International Finance Corporation, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, will provide a $16.2m loan to.... more
(21 August 2004 20:12)

MEP publishes guide to policy
Former Green Party MEP and rapporteur for the European Commission’s white paper on chemicals Inger Schörling has published a guide setting out the.... more
(21 August 2004 20:12)

DuPont refutes EPA accusation
DuPont has responded to complaints from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in relation to claims that the company failed to notify the.... more
(21 August 2004 20:12)

WWF finds PBDE contamination
Environmental activist WWF has claimed a recent peer-reviewed scientific study looking at the contamination of wild and farmed salmon with the flame.... more
(21 August 2004 20:12)

Environment in brief
Dimas appointment Stavros Dimas has been appointed as the EU’s environment minister, replacing Margot Walström who has become vice.... more
(21 August 2004 20:12)

Albion buys
Albion Chemicals Group of the UK has announced the acquisition of the hygiene and swimming pool supply business of compatriot Clavergate. .... more
(21 August 2004 20:12)

Licence deal inked
Dutch biotechnology company Crucell and allied contract manufacturer DSM Biologics have announced that Crucell has signed a research licence.... more
(21 August 2004 20:12)

Honeywell refrigerants plan
US-based specialities firm Honeywell plans to build a manufacturing plant for non-ozone depleting refrigerant products in Qingpu, Shanghai, China. more
(21 August 2004 20:12)

Fine chemicals in brief
Herbicide launch Swiss agrochemicals group Syngenta has launched the corn herbicide Lexar in the US. Syngenta said the product will be.... more
(21 August 2004 20:12)

Product Profile: Benzene
Buyers are grappling with soaring prices and a tightening market. Forecast short supply will keep prices above trend more
(21 August 2004 20:12)

Fibres Monitor: Fibres unaffected by summer lull
Tightness in many markets is supporting prices, despite the seasonal downturn. Quarter three caprolactam shoots up with benzene, while ACN.... more
(21 August 2004 20:12)

Ajinomoto ploughs funds into amino acids business
Tokyo’s Ajinomoto will expand its amino acid business with investments in Brazil, China and the US totalling Yen21.6bn (€158m/$195m). more
(21 August 2004 20:12)

Deal signed
ExxonMobil has signed a preliminary agreement with the Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA to develop a petrochemical plant in eastern Venezuela. more
(21 August 2004 20:12)

Second 1-octene unit planned
Sasol intends to build a new 100 000 tonne/year 1-octene plant at its existing complex in Secunda, South Africa. more
(21 August 2004 20:12)

PS plant to use BP/ Lummus technology
Salavatnefteorgsintez will build a 70 000 tonne/year polystyrene (PS) plant in Russia using BP/Lummus PS technology. more
(21 August 2004 20:12)

Three US cities to trial hydrogen fueling projects
Air Product’s hydrogen fueling technologies has been selected by the California South Coast Air Quality Management District for three demonstration.... more
(21 August 2004 20:12)

Blown-film offers new uses for PP
Borealis has developed a range of polypropylene (PP) blown-film material designed for production on conventional blown-film machinery, traditionally.... more
(21 August 2004 20:12)

EPA backs testing protocols on cells
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has joined in a research agreement with Affymetrix to develop testing protocols which will enhance.... more
(21 August 2004 20:12)

Research screening
Symyx Technologies and UOP have entered into a multi-year intellectual property cross-licensing agreement relating to their respective patents for.... more
(21 August 2004 20:12)

Market Trends: Brent crude rides high on new peak
Paraxylene continues to mount as Asian prices rocket. Meanwhile, Brent crude reached a new high of $44.11/bbl at the start of the week taking Naphtha.... more
(21 August 2004 20:12)

Ethanolomine producers underwhelmed by hikes
Ethanolamines producers say they are ‘reasonably satisfied’ with the €60-70/tonne price hike over July and August. more
(21 August 2004 20:12)

Salt demand growth on the up
Global salt production is expected to rise by around 20m tonne over the next five years, with total output set to exceed 244m tonne by 2009. more
(21 August 2004 20:12)

Markets in brief
Facility on course Borden Chemical has announced the successful start-up of a formaldehyde and resin production facility in Heyuan, China, as.... more
(21 August 2004 20:12)

Siegfried axes 130 pharma jobs
Swiss fine chemicals firm Siegfried is to lose 130 jobs as part of a cost-cutting exercise in its pharmaceutical business. more
(21 August 2004 20:12)

Braskem mulls PP expansion
Braskem is considering building a worldscale polypropylene (PP) plant at its chemicals complex in Camaçari, Bahia state, northeast Brazil. more
(21 August 2004 20:12)

Petroflex to stretch rubber
Brazilian synthetic rubber producer Petroflex is to expand its capacity in Cabo de Santo Agostinho, Pernambuco state and Duque de Caxias, Rio de.... more
(21 August 2004 20:12)

Jv partners on gas pipeline
BASF and Gazprom, operating as a 50:50 joint venture (jv), have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Romgaz and Transgaz to build a.... more
(21 August 2004 20:12)

Lube Oil Contract
Foster Wheeler Malaysia and its partner OGP Technical Services have been awarded a project management consultancy contract by Petronas for the.... more
(21 August 2004 20:12)

UK woos would-be US investors
The UK’s Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is using chemical success stories in a marketing strategy in the US aimed at encouraging US.... more
(21 August 2004 20:12)

First Japanese executive to serve time in the US
Hitoshi Hayashi, a Diacel executive, looks set to become the first Japanese citizen to serve a custodial sentence in the US for his role in fixing.... more
(21 August 2004 20:12)

Key figures take reins at EC
Neelie Kroes, Stavros Dimas and Peter Mandelson will be among the most important Europeans that the chemical industry will have to deal with over the.... more
(21 August 2004 20:12)

Actonel patent fray
Aventis, the French life sciences group recently taken over by rival Sanofi-Synthélabo, has initiated patent infringement litigation against Teva. more
(21 August 2004 20:12)

Ciech flotation to fund ZCP purchase
Polish trading and chemicals company Ciech is planning to float around Zloty200m (€45m/$55m) on the Warsaw Stock Exchange towards the end of.... more
(21 August 2004 20:12)

Canada reigns top for value
Europe’s speciality chemicals sector lags behind that of North America and Australia in terms of the competitive environment in which it operates,.... more
(21 August 2004 20:12)

Fire halts production
Contract Chemicals lost a day of production from its Knowsley, UK, plant when a fire involving red phosphorous broke out. No one was injured in the.... more
(21 August 2004 20:12)

High benzene prices boost styrene contracts
Styrene contracts climbed yet again in August in response to the ongoing hikes in benzene numbers. more
(21 August 2004 20:12)

Demand fuels price hike
August is proving an unusually busy month for the European chlorinated solvents market. more
(21 August 2004 20:12)

LME calms ‘anti’ futures feeling
The London Metal Exchange (LME) is confident it will be able to allay the ‘anti’ futures fears and myths felt by some polymer producers regarding the.... more
(21 August 2004 20:12)

CIA sustainability queried
The UK Chemical Industries Association (CIA) launched its latest sustainability guidelines this summer, promising to measure and report annually on.... more
(21 August 2004 20:12)

Business in brief
NLNG contract Nigeria LNG (NLNG) has awarded a fourth engineering, procurement, and construction contract, for the NLNGSix project, to a.... more
(21 August 2004 20:12)

Fruitarom expands
Fruitarom, the Israeli flavours and fragrances company, has completed the purchase of International Flavors and Fragrances’ (IFF) Swiss and German.... more
(21 August 2004 20:12)

Odessa privatisation
The Ukrainian government is planning to privatise its 1.5m tonne/year fertiliser plant at Odessa. more
(21 August 2004 20:12)

Sulphuric boost for Aker Kvaerner
The Chemetics division of Aker Kvaerner Canada has won two major contracts in sulphuric acid production in Kazakhstan and Peru. more
(21 August 2004 20:12)

Steep rise in energy prices
Rising energy prices in the UK are denting competitiveness at chemical producers, which are already struggling with soaring feedstock prices, warns.... more
(21 August 2004 20:12)

EC may clear foam makers
The EC is re-evaluating a plan to exempt 48 polyurethane foam makers from a ban on hydrochlorofluorocarbon 141b and consulation with member.... more
(21 August 2004 20:12)

New anti-malaria drug on trial
A ground-breaking anti-malaria drug has been cleared for human clinical trials in the UK. more
(21 August 2004 20:12)

CSBP: study to double AN capacity
CSBP is conducting a feasibility study into a $140m expansion of its ammonium nitrate (AN) capacity at its Kwinana complex in Australia. more
(21 August 2004 20:12)

Soda ash producers get warning
Martin Keighley, the new managing director (Europe) of UK-headquartered soda ash producer Brunner Mond has marked his appointment with an urgent.... more
(21 August 2004 20:12)

New Projects in brief
Pet looks east Pet International of Turkey is reportedly planning to invest €4m in a plant to produce raw materials for plastic and polyethylene.... more
(21 August 2004 20:12)

ACC Expresses Alarm at Soaring Trade Deficit
A top chemical industry official is expressing alarm that the US trade deficit hit a record $55.82 billion in June as demand surged for high-cost.... more
(20 August 2004 18:25)