ICIS - Search Articles by Date : July 18 2005 - July 24 2005

Chemical profile: Ethylene oxide
  Uses Ethylene oxide (EO) is primarily used as a chemical intermediate. About 64% of global output is.... more
(22 July 2005 15:21)

Kurkilahti: aiming for greatness
Since his recent appointment, Kemira’s Lasse Kurkilahti has made enormous strides in his drive to restructure the Finnish chemicals company. Cath.... more
(22 July 2005 15:21)

Borealis builds on its success
IPIC values its stake in Borealis and has recently increased it to 65%. Tim Glogan looks at where the company is likely to go, now its prospects are.... more
(22 July 2005 15:21)

Successful fertilisation
Since splitting from Norsk Hydro, fertiliser company Yara has enjoyed rocketing sales. ECN talks to senior vice president Arne Cartridge to discover.... more
(22 July 2005 15:21)

Scandinavia waits for the tide to turn
It has been a disappointing year so far in Europe’s northernmost countries. more
(22 July 2005 15:21)

New projects roundup
Gail studies Assaluyeh cracker options Gail (India) hopes to complete a detailed feasibility study on a 1m tonne/year cracker investment in.... more
(22 July 2005 15:21)

Markets Watch
Pesticide market was worth $33bn last year Around 5m tonne of herbicides, insecticides and other pesticides were purchased in 2004, according to.... more
(22 July 2005 15:21)

Toyo is Sabic’s MEG engineer
Sabic has signed a letter of intent with Japan’s Toyo Engineering for the design and construction of a monoethylene glycol (MEG) plant at YanSab’s.... more
(22 July 2005 15:21)

Triple expansion of HPC
Albemarle will expand its hydroprocessing catalyst (HPC) production at three sites worldwide to address a growing demand. more
(22 July 2005 15:21)

RAG storage contract
Chemieanlagenbau Chemnitz (CAC) has been awarded a contract for the construction of a natural gas storage unit for Rohöl-Aufsuchungs (RAG) in.... more
(22 July 2005 15:21)

IOC nears end of study
Indian Oil Corp (IOC) hopes to complete a detailed feasibility study on a petrochemical complex at Paradeep, on the east coast of India, by August.... more
(22 July 2005 15:21)

Wingas digs deep to fund extension
A spade-turning ceremony has signalled the start of a project to extend the Stegal long-distance natural gas pipeline that runs from Saxony to.... more
(22 July 2005 15:21)

Projects in brief
VOPAK AWARDS ASIAN JETTY CONTRACTS Vopak has awarded construction contracts worth S$36m (€17.6m/$21.3m) to Antara Koh and McConnel Dowell to.... more
(22 July 2005 15:21)

Banks give a green light to Vestolit’s plan
Creditor banks have agreed to provide financing for Vestolit, allowing the firm to start a €100m programme to expand upstream and downstream.... more
(22 July 2005 15:21)

Board spurs revamp
Spur Ventures has won board approval to fast-track the expansion projects at its Yichang, China, fertiliser complex. more
(22 July 2005 15:21)

New projects summary
Reported in ECN 11 and 18 July 2005 more
(22 July 2005 15:21)

US bill gets tough on chemicals
A move to introduce US legislation forcing chemical producers to provide health and safety information on their products has been greeted with.... more
(22 July 2005 15:21)

Livelier sulphur catalysis
Improved activity of molybdenum disulphide catalyst, used to remove sulphur compounds from gasoline and other fossil fuels, has been achieved in the.... more
(22 July 2005 15:21)

Albemarle to build in China
US speciality chemical producer Albemarle is acquiring a site in China on which to build a technology centre, a repackaging facility for its.... more
(22 July 2005 15:21)

Sosei grows with Arakis
The Japanese biopharmaceutical firm Sosei is paying £106.5m (€153m/$184m) to buy UK-based Arakis, a privately owned company which ‘discovers,.... more
(22 July 2005 15:21)

DuPont faces a sticky situation
DuPont is facing class action litigation in lawsuits alleging that the company knew for more than 20 years that Teflon had the potential to ‘make.... more
(22 July 2005 15:21)

Hazred helps small firms
As new hazardous waste regulations come into force in England and Wales, the UK’s Environment Agency is leading a European funded project to develop.... more
(22 July 2005 15:21)

Envirowise to save water
A UK government programme, Envirowise, is calling on the chemicals sector to reduce its water usage. more
(22 July 2005 15:21)

Reach is leading the way, says Dimas
According to Europe’s environment commissioner Stavros Dimas the latest developments in the US regarding chemical legislation show Europe ‘is heading.... more
(22 July 2005 15:21)

Benzene tumbles on low crude
Naphtha slipped to $445-450/tonne cif NWE. Prices moved higher earlier in the week on the back of stronger crude oil. more
(22 July 2005 15:21)

Innovation in brief
Start-up will market process reactors Micro Reactor Systems Provider (MRSP) has been formed in Brookline, Massachusetts, US, to meet market.... more
(22 July 2005 15:21)

Comment from Asia
Is anyone really making money out of China? more
(22 July 2005 15:21)

Threat to EU future as R&D intensity falters
The European Commission warned last week that too much investment in R&D is heading to the US and Asia, creating long-term issues more
(22 July 2005 15:21)

News Watch
ICI commits to rectify Pension fund deficit ICI has brought forward by a year a full actuarial valuation of its UK pension fund and may have to.... more
(22 July 2005 15:21)

Akzo Nobel close to first disposal
Dutch coatings and chemicals group Akzo Nobel is close to selling one of its smaller businesses in its chemicals divestment programme, a company.... more
(22 July 2005 15:21)

JM to motor in second half
Johnson Matthey (JM) will see stronger growth in profits in the second half of the year, chairman Michael Miles told shareholders at the company’s.... more
(22 July 2005 15:21)

People’s Bank revalues the renminbi
The People’s Bank of China revalued the Chinese renminbi last week for the first time in almost a decade, setting its rate to the dollar at 8.11. more
(22 July 2005 15:21)

Lanxess in fibres sale
Lanxess is considering selling its Dorlastan manmade fibres business to a Japanese investor, German press reports said last week. Chairman Axel.... more
(22 July 2005 15:21)

High costs hit margins
High raw materials costs and lower product prices hit operating profits at EVC International in the first half, said the firm reporting for the last.... more
(22 July 2005 15:21)

ABN AMRO buys distributor IMCD
European bank ABN AMRO plans to acquire the speciality chemicals distributor IMCD in a secondary buy-out from AlpInvest Partners. more
(22 July 2005 15:21)

Quaron gains strength with Solvadis
Netherlands-based distribution firm Quaron is gaining strength in its home markets of Benelux and France with the acquisition of SolvadisNetherlands.... more
(22 July 2005 15:21)

Business in brief
Sabic blames lower prices for fall Sabic has blamed lower prices for a 6.2% fall to Riyal 4.76bn (€1.05bn/$1.27bn) in second quarter net profits..... more
(22 July 2005 15:21)

German chemical industry twitches as elections loom
Out-of-turn parliamentary elections are scheduled for mid-September in Germany – if constitutional roadblocks don’t get in the way. more
(22 July 2005 15:21)

BPA margins slip despite phenol hike
Bisphenol A (BPA) suppliers are facing up to an erosion in margins after a monthly contract drop of €50-100/tonne in July, despite a €201/tonne.... more
(22 July 2005 15:21)

Sellers split over cyclohexane delta
The initial increase agreed for the third quarter (Q3) cyclohexane delta of €5/tonne is considered ‘reasonable’ and ‘fair’ according to certain.... more
(22 July 2005 15:21)

Markets Watch
fluorotelomers up DuPont Chemical Solutions Enterprise is raising prices for DuPont Zonyl, Forafac and Foraperle fluorotelomer products including.... more
(22 July 2005 15:21)

Olefins players expect healthy margins in Q3
Cracker operators were optimistic last week that the good times might extend until end-Q3, as prices of propylene and ethylene spiralled upwards, and.... more
(18 July 2005 10:05)

Fujian refinery-C2 jv takes shape
A HUGE wave of relief must have swept over the participants at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Fujian refinery-cracker project on 8 July. more
(18 July 2005 10:04)

Push for integration in Haicang
SLOW and steady does it. more
(18 July 2005 10:07)

An inside view
Can a new report on China’s polymers market give a full picture of pricing and demand? Mark Lazell finds out more
(22 July 2005 12:16)

New projects summary
As reported in ACN 8-15 July 2005 more
(22 July 2005 12:16)

EDC: Cost concerns cloud Q3 outlook
Concerns about high feedstock costs are clouding Asian ethylene-chloride (EDC) producers’ outlook for Q3. After the poor performance of May and June,.... more
(22 July 2005 12:16)

Adipic producers hope for better margins in August
Adipic acid players in Asia expect prices to stabilise in August, as the peak demand season sets in. more
(22 July 2005 12:16)

C3 surplus for S Korea from 2007?
South Korea is likely to have a propylene surplus from 2007, reversing its current short position, once new metathesis projects and cracker revamps.... more
(22 July 2005 12:16)

New projects roundup
Sasol demands guarantees for two 80k bbl/day coal-to-liquids projects in China 15 July. Sasol said it was demanding a series of guarantees from.... more
(22 July 2005 12:16)