ICIS - Search Articles by Date : March 17 2003 - March 23 2003

Oil company workers flee Gulf as bombing begins
European headquartered oil and petrochemical companies were last week withdrawing non-essential staff from the Middle East and facing up to a.... more
(21 March 2003 11:36)

News in brief
Staying upbeat DuPont Brazil expects sales to surpass the $1bn mark this year thanks to increased exports and market share. It expects.... more
(21 March 2003 11:36)

Romanian APAPS plans 1300 job cuts
Nearly 1300 jobs in the Romanian chemical industry will be axed by late June as privatisation agency APAPS prepares to sell off more state companies..... more
(21 March 2003 11:36)

P&G bid for Wella is approved
Majority shareholders at German cosmetics and fragrances group Wella have agreed to a E3.2bn takeover by US competitor Procter & Gamble (P&G), which.... more
(21 March 2003 11:36)

Stock break-up bid on the cards
Speculation that a break-up bid may be near for Yorkshire Group rose last week after Swedish financier Peter Gyllenhammar increased his stake in the.... more
(21 March 2003 11:36)

Limited stock may help margins
Further restrictions in acrylic acid supply should support producers' attempts to improve margins from the second quarter (Q2) onwards more
(21 March 2003 11:36)

Producers push for price hikes
European caustic soda producers are asking for higher numbers for quarter two, posting a E50/dmt increase effective 1 April, citing low stocks -.... more
(21 March 2003 11:36)

Cyanide destruction debut
Degussa subsidiary CyPlus has joined forces with Canadian mining and metals company Inco to launch a new cyanide detoxification process more
(21 March 2003 11:36)

Breadth or focus? The winner is...
The full-year 2002 reporting season for chemicals effectively concluded last week. BASF, the world's largest chemicals concern with annual turnover.... more
(21 March 2003 11:36)

News in brief
Delay dispute ends Aker Kvaerner has signed a settlement agreement with Tosco relating to contractual and financial disagreements on a.... more
(21 March 2003 11:36)

News in brief
Termite control Syngenta has announced that it has received US Environmental Protection Agency registration for its pre-construction .... more
(21 March 2003 11:36)

Aiming for expansion
Israeli flavours and fragrances group Frutarom hopes to open subsidiaries in eastern Europe this year to take advantage of a market for processed.... more
(21 March 2003 11:36)

Sumitomo increases NOC stake
Sumitomo Chemical is planning a major expansion of its propylene oxide (PO) operations in Asia and the Middle East more
(21 March 2003 11:36)

Nexant looks at feasibility
US-based Nexant has been selected to conduct a feasibility study on a $30m, 5000 tonne/year epichlorohydrin and allyl chloride derivatives plant for.... more
(21 March 2003 11:36)

Second chlorine plant to double capacity at Rafnes
Norsk Hydro has decided to go ahead with the construction of a second NKr1bn (E128m/$138m) chlorine plant at its Rafnes complex in Norway more
(21 March 2003 11:36)

BioProtein/Q-One ink safety deal
BioProtein Technologies, a Paris, France-based biotechnology firm specialising in the production of therapeutic proteins in the milk of transgenic.... more
(21 March 2003 11:36)

Hte signs Japanese distribution venture
Heidelberg, Germany-based Hte, a company launched specifically to develop high throughput experimentation methods, as its name would suggest, for the.... more
(21 March 2003 11:36)

Praxair hits on fuel-grade H2
Responding to the current heightened interest in the development of hydrogen fuel cells, Praxair is now offering a new specially developed.... more
(21 March 2003 11:36)

Methanex looks at options
Since announcing last week that its Aus$1bn (E553m/ $594m) methanol project in Western Australia was on hold, Methanex is considering alternative.... more
(21 March 2003 11:36)

Polibrasil to up PP capacity
Brazilian polypropylene (PP) producer Polibrasil is to expand its PP plant in Duque de Caxias, Rio de Janeiro, to 300 000 tonne/year more
(21 March 2003 11:36)

Plans to meet growth
ExxonMobil revealed that it has identified further de-bottlenecking requirements last week, during the inauguration of a 13% increase in isopropyl.... more
(21 March 2003 11:36)

Industry believes 2003 will see 2.9% volume growth
A sense of cautious optimism has pushed the French chemicals industry to stick with its earlier forecast of 2.9% higher sales volumes in 2003 -.... more
(21 March 2003 11:36)

BASF results beat analysts forecast
BASF exceeded its own and analysts expectations during 2002, but said the war with Iraq and economic uncertainty makes predicting beyond the second.... more
(21 March 2003 11:36)

OGS pursues higher offer as value slides
The board at UK biotechnology firm Oxford GlycoSciences (OGS) has withdrawn its recommendation for an all-share takeover offer by compatriot.... more
(21 March 2003 11:36)

CSFB ups profit forecast
Analysts at Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB) have upgraded their profit forecast for UK speciality chemicals group Yule Catto, after it reported.... more
(21 March 2003 11:36)

Condea set to increase prices by 10%
In an unprecedented move, Germany's Condea-Huntsman has taken the lead in announcing a price increase for maleic anhydride in Europe more
(21 March 2003 11:36)

Jam awards contracts
Jam Petrochemical, a subsidiary of the Iranian state-owned National Petrochemical (NPC), has awarded an engineering and procurement contract to Lurgi.... more
(21 March 2003 11:36)

DuPont settles out of court
DuPont has settled its lone Benlate shareholder class action lawsuit in the US for $77m and predicts this will impact earnings for the first quarter.... more
(21 March 2003 11:36)

Bayer may reopen asset talks
BASF may try to renegotiate with Bayer on the acquisition of a package of insecticides and seed treatment fungicides that competition authorities.... more
(21 March 2003 11:36)

Consortia shortlisted
Iran's National Petrochemical (NPC)has shortlisted contractors for a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plant in the Petrochemical Special Economic Zone of.... more
(21 March 2003 11:36)

Technip/Nargan win E173m Iranian bid
French contractor Technip-Coflexip and Iranian partner Nargan have won a E173m contract for the design and construction of an ethylene plant on Kharg.... more
(21 March 2003 11:36)

Falling naphtha impacts Q2 talks
The recent slump in naphtha prices has demolished prevailing thinking concerning quarter two (Q2) olefins contract negotiations more
(21 March 2003 11:36)

US justice dept targets majors
Monsanto, DuPont, Dow Chemical and Syngenta have each been contacted by the Department of Justice in the US, in an investigation into possible.... more
(21 March 2003 11:36)

ACC Demands Energy Legislation
Prompted by sharply higher natural gas prices, chemical industry officials and a bipartisan group of lawmakers called on Congress and the White House more
(18 March 2003 14:35)

Altana Eyes Faster Growth in Specialties
Altana is reiterating its goal of accelerating growth in specialty chemicals through acquisitions after reporting improved profit margins in more
(21 March 2003 19:34)

BASF Corp. Engineered a Turnaround in 2002
BASF Corp., the North American division of BASF AG, engineered a turnaround in 2002 with underlying operating income swinging to  74 million versus more
(21 March 2003 19:34)

Bayer Stock Rockets on Baycol Ruling
Shares of Bayer AG shot up after a Corpus Christi, Tex., jury ruled that US subsidiary Bayer Corp. is not liable in a $560 million suit brought more
(21 March 2003 19:34)

Business In Brief
Lonza Selects Distributor Lonza Group has selected Roche Vitamins Inc. to distribute its niacin USP to food and beverage manufacturers in the US. more
(21 March 2003 19:34)

EU Governments Refuse to Back Proposed Anti-Dumping Measures
The European chemical industry is calling for a review of the way the European Union (EU) handles anti-dumping cases after a majority of EU more
(21 March 2003 19:34)

Celanese Acetate to Expand Its Joint Ventures in China
Celanese Acetate LLC and China National Tobacco Corp. (CNT) have signed an agreement to double the capacities of their three Chinese joint more
(21 March 2003 19:34)

Breaking News Roundup
Procter & Gamble Acquires Wella Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) has signed an agreement to purchase German hair care products maker more
(21 March 2003 19:34)

Producers Seek Further Polystyrene Increases
Producers are raising prices for polystyrene as quickly as possible in response to months of surging energy and feedstock costs. The loss of margin more
(21 March 2003 19:34)

Chemical Commodities Monthly
ACETIC ACID Feedstock costs, mainly methanol and natural gas, have spurred a number of unusual midquarter price increase more
(21 March 2003 19:34)

Generics Represent Challenge for New Drugs
Pharmaceutical innovators must win the consumer's mind with real benefits if they are to hold their own against the rising flood of generics, says more
(21 March 2003 19:34)

DuPont to Acquire DuPont Canada For $940 Million
DuPont is offering to acquire the 24 percent of DuPont Canada it does not already own for C$21 per share, or C$1.4 billion ($940 million), a 22 more
(21 March 2003 19:34)

Europe in Brief
ELEMICA, the chemicals e-commerce platform, has agreed to acquire from Stolt-Nielsen SA Optimum Logistics Ltd., a global marine logistics solution more
(21 March 2003 19:34)

ExxonMobil Boosts Its IPA Capacity
During a recent turnaround, ExxonMobil Chemical completed a significant upgrade to its isopropyl alcohol (IPA) unit in Baton Rouge, La. The more
(21 March 2003 19:34)

Private Equity Firms Grab Big Stakes In Public Chem Companies as Stocks Slide
Warburg Pincus scours industry for additional investments. Joseph Chang reports. more
(21 March 2003 19:34)

Financial in Brief
Buckingham Research analyst John Roberts has initiated coverage of Sigma-Aldrich Corp. with an "accumulate" rating based on expected sales growth more
(21 March 2003 19:34)

NPRA Recommends Adoption Of Updated US Energy Policy
The petrochemical and refiners industry's chief spokesman told Congress last week that an updated US energy policy "should emphasize the supply more
(21 March 2003 19:34)