ICIS - Search Articles by Date : February 20 2006 - February 26 2006

Market Trends & Data - Aromatics climb on high energy
Benzene, toluene and mixed xylenes firm in response to higher energy costs. Many other spot markets remain quiet with orthoxylene looking lacklustre more
(20 February 2006 10:56)

Market Trends: Quiet abounds as dealers loiter
Polymer outages cap propylene prices. European butadiene and MTBE slip while PX plummets. And there are suggestions of an overheated methanol market more
(20 February 2006 11:13)

PTT and ExxonMobil strike Thai deal
ExxonMobil Chemical Technology Licensing has signed an agreement with Thailand’s PTT Chemical to license technology for the production of low density.... more
(24 February 2006 15:29)

Br-FRs do not affect fish
The European Union’s Cluster of Research into Endocrine Disruption in Europe has completed a long-term marine exposure study on two brominated flame.... more
(24 February 2006 15:29)

USW slams DuPont on its safety record
The United Steelworkers (USW) union in the US has launched a website which, it says, ‘reveals facts about DuPont’s record on health and safety at the.... more
(24 February 2006 15:29)

Gail awaits consent from Cabinet for Assam cracker
Approval from the Indian Cabinet for Gail India’s 220 000 tonne/year mixed-feed cracker project in Dibrugarh, Assam, is expected in the next two.... more
(24 February 2006 15:29)

HPCL plans to switch focus to aromatics
Hindustan Petroleum Corp (HPCL) plans to focus on aromatics production at its proposed petrochemicals complex in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh,.... more
(24 February 2006 15:29)

Tianji sees plant delays
Tianji Coal Chemical Industry Group has delayed the start-up of its first methanol project, a 200 000 tonne/year unit in Lucheng, Shanxi Province,.... more
(24 February 2006 15:29)

US chemicals trade deficit continues
About $28bn in chemicals trade has been lost from the US since 1997, the American Chemistry Council (ACC) revealed in a report last week. more
(24 February 2006 15:29)

In Brief - Environment Watch
Liveris adds weight to RC global charter more
(24 February 2006 15:29)

Mitsui USA and Vopak jv
Mitsui USA and Vopak plan to merge their complementary tank terminal activities in the US and Canada in a new 50:50 joint venture (jv) to be named.... more
(24 February 2006 15:29)

Yara plans Trinidad investment
Yara International plans to invest between $600m and $1bn to expand its ammonia capacity, plus the addition of downstream industrial production.... more
(24 February 2006 15:29)

Fluor wins Spanish gas work
Enagas has awarded Fluor a $52m contract for the detailed engineering, procurement services and construction management of a large gas-compression.... more
(24 February 2006 15:29)

Huntsman, the surprise winner of Ciba’s auction
Huntsman is buying Ciba Specialty Chemicals’ textile effects business for SF332m (€212m/$253m) in cash, and taking on SF75m debt. more
(24 February 2006 15:29)

Linde earnings exceed analyst expectations
German gases and engineering group Linde exceeded its earnings expectations and those of most analysts in 2005, with operating profit up 18% against.... more
(24 February 2006 15:29)

Producers move up melamine
High feedstock prices are squeezing melamine producers’ margins, leading to calls for a higher quarter two (Q2) contract price. more
(24 February 2006 15:29)

Bayer opens Hong Kong centre
Bayer MaterialScience has officially opened its new regional centre for the Asia-Pacific region, drawing together management functions of the.... more
(24 February 2006 15:29)

THINK TANK BASF remains upbeat about 2006 projections
BASF may not have given as upbeat an outlook as Dow Chemical, but it remains positive on the chemicals cycle and the health of the world’s.... more
(24 February 2006 15:29)

Cognis and Golden Hope finalise pact
Cognis has transferred its ailing European and North American oleochemicals businesses and Germany-based plastics technology activities to an.... more
(24 February 2006 15:29)

Back to nature in the bathroom
For years, manufacturers of consumer chemicals have been striving to make their products seem more natural. But some people think the back-to-nature.... more
(24 February 2006 15:29)

5-MINUTE MARKET WATCH
INDIAN PET FIRMS MAY ESCAPE DUTIES more
(24 February 2006 15:29)

5-MINUTE PROJECT WATCH
PERU’S FIRST LNG PLANT GAINS GROUND more
(24 February 2006 15:29)

People on the move
FRANCINE SHAW more
(24 February 2006 15:29)

COMMENT
Benefit for bureaucracy? more
(24 February 2006 15:29)

Lanxess' Brazil plant closure
Lanxess is closing one of its unprofitable plants in Brazil at the end of the year, with the aim of saving Real 7.6m (€3.0m/$3.6m)/year. The plant,.... more
(24 February 2006 15:29)

THE WORLD THIS WEEK
BUNDESTAG PASSES GENETICS LEGISLATION more
(24 February 2006 15:29)

BASF's 2005 financial figures break records
BASF achieved record sales of €42.75bn in 2005, up 14% over 2004, and saw earnings before interest and tax (Ebit) climb 17% to €6.14bn. And, said.... more
(24 February 2006 15:29)

MARKETS: DATA BANK
CONTRACT BULK CHEMICAL PRICES more
(24 February 2006 15:29)

Market Trends: Olefins firm in snug market
European paraxylene is jumping for March and styrene trade is described as decent; bad weather holds up ammonia shipments; elsewhere, trade is steady.... more
(24 February 2006 15:29)

Shell earnings drop after Basell sale
SHELL SAW chemicals division earnings drop 14% in 2005, due mainly to the cost of divesting Basell, its polyolefins joint venture with BASF. more
(25 February 2006 11:40)

BOC gives Linde reasons
BOC amplified the reason why it rejected Line’s unsolicited approach for the company at its AGM at the end of January. Rob Margetts, chairman said:.... more
(25 February 2006 11:47)

EWG draws a different conclusion
Just as the EPA was announcing its new initiative, US environmentalists at the Environmental Working Group (EWG) said that a panel of experts had.... more
(25 February 2006 11:52)

Falling feedstocks boost olefins
FALLING CRUDE oil and natural gas prices are having a divergent impact on olefins pricing as ethylene prices dip in tandem with feedstock costs while.... more
(21 February 2006 15:33)

BASF shows versatile stripes at Informex
AS THE world’s largest chemical manufacturer, BASF has long been a market leader in commodity chemicals. Last week at Informex, the new business.... more
(21 February 2006 15:33)

Cash is King: payout hikes to come
Dow boosts dividend 12%, the first increase since 2001. Joseph Chang reports more
(20 February 2006 00:00)

Clariant pops on buzz oftakeover talk
SHARES IN Clariant rose by as much as 11%, from €12.74 to €14.12 last week before falling back to about €13 by midweek on reports it was in takeover.... more
(20 February 2006 15:13)

Foreign LNG won’t save the day
IF petrochemicals executives had hopes that imported natural gas would arrive like the cavalry to rescue their industry from starvation, they got.... more
(21 February 2006 15:35)

Solutia files to emerge from bankruptcy court
SOLUTIA HAS filed its reorganization plan for emerging from bankruptcy, featuring $250 million in new equity investments. more
(21 February 2006 15:30)

Coal-to-chemicals a diamond in the rough?
WITH CONTINUING volatility in crude oil and natural gas prices, coal may be a diamond in the rough when it comes to making chemicals. While the.... more
(21 February 2006 15:32)

Informex 2006 buzzes on positive outlook
ALTHOUGH SOME attendees observed that traffic seemed light on the floor of this year’s Informex trade show, the numbers were up from last year, and.... more
(21 February 2006 15:31)

LATE SPOT PRICES
LATE SPOT PRICES more
(25 February 2006 11:07)

China paint additives growing strong
THE CHINESE paint additives market, like the paints and coatings market, is expected to do well over the next few years. more
(25 February 2006 11:07)

Competition heats up for fine chemicals—survival of the fittest
IN THE demanding custom fine chemicals market, it is survival of the fittest, industry sources said at Informex 2006, held in Orlando, Fla. in.... more
(25 February 2006 11:07)

Jobs and People
Chuck Broadus has been appointed president of Airgas Specialty Products, Airgas Inc.’s ammonia distribution business. more
(25 February 2006 11:07)

Lyondell’s Smith manages the cycle
The petrochemicals major is more than half way to paying down $3 billion of its debt, and will seek differentiated businesses as cycle plateaus,.... more
(25 February 2006 11:07)

ISP looks to innovation and M&A
New products developments in pharmaceutical ingredients and personal care products are expected to deliver dividends in 2006 and beyond more
(25 February 2006 11:07)

IN BRIEF Pharma/Life sciences
Lilly revamps drug alliance Eli Lilly and Company has signed an alliance with Boehringer Ingelheim to change the nature of its contractual.... more
(25 February 2006 11:07)

IN BRIEF Makets Watch
BTX Rising crude oil costs helped push spot benzene prices into the high $2.80s per gallon range. Earlier in the month, spot benzene prices in the.... more
(25 February 2006 11:07)

BASF styrene plant stays shut down
BASF’s CHIEF executive said last week the company had not restarted its 510,000 ton-per-year Ludwigshafen styrene plant due to market overcapacity,.... more
(25 February 2006 11:07)

BASF sees good growth in 2006
BASF FORECASTED another good year in 2006 despite the slowdown in some businesses during the fourth quarter. more
(25 February 2006 11:07)