ICIS - Search Articles by Date : May 21 2007 - May 27 2007

New projects reported by ICIS 7-13 May 2007
  Company Product Capacity Process Contractor Cost Startup Status Agrium, Egyptian Petrochemicals.... more
(22 May 2007 08:07)

20 YEARS AGO and 10 YEARS AGO
ECN 18 May 1987 Yugoslavia to build 200,000/tonne year styrene plant at Krk Ina Omisalj of Yugoslavia is set to proceed with Phase.... more
(22 May 2007 07:53)

VNF looks for partners to fund canal
  THE FRENCH Authority for Inland Waterways, Voies Navigables de France (VNF), is seeking private partners to.... more
(25 May 2007 13:20)

Monsanto signs gene stacking deal
MONSANTO HAS signed a collaborative agreement with the privately owned firm Chromatin to evaluate and develop Chromatin's proprietary gene-stacking.... more
(25 May 2007 13:20)

INEOS does two PVC deals
INEOS is buying Norsk Hydro's chlor-alkali to polyvinyl chloride (PVC) business for Norwegian kroner (NKr) 5.5bn ($912m, €670m). The business,.... more
(25 May 2007 17:32)

Bunge signs fertilizer JV
BUNGE AND Morocco's state-owned producer, Office Cherifien des Phosphates (OCP), are investing $350m (€260m) in a joint venture (JV) fertilizer.... more
(25 May 2007 13:20)

Solvent season brings increases
Asia's solvent grade xylene prices are likely to remain on an uptrend until June because of tight supply from South Korea and strong demand from.... more
(25 May 2007 13:20)

SBR producers optimistic decrease will be resisted
Third quarter styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) contract negotiations may be some weeks away, but many European producers are already quietly confident.... more
(25 May 2007 13:20)

PP supply to tip global scales
New propylene and polypropylene (PP) production in the Middle East will alter global supply balances and cause Europe to move from a net PP exporter.... more
(25 May 2007 17:37)

Victrex builds UK film unit
POLYETHERETHERKETONE (PEEK) producer Victrex has branched out into polymer-based films. The company has built a £5.3m ($10.5m, €7.8m).... more
(25 May 2007 13:20)

EU votes for water shake-up
The European Parliament has voted in favour of strengthening proposed rules to improve the quality of surface water. The European Commission had.... more
(25 May 2007 13:20)

Canada heads u-turn to become competitive
Canada must reverse a series of plant closures and job losses in its chemicals sector and re-establish competitiveness, says Richard Paron,.... more
(25 May 2007 13:20)

Airgas buys CNR ammonia division
Airgas has bought the aqua ammonia operations of Minnesota-based Continental Nitrogen and Resources (CNR) for an undisclosed sum. The division.... more
(25 May 2007 17:34)

INEOS/Basell compete
INEOS and Basell have separately made prequalifying bids for a 51% stake in Turkish petrochemicals major Petkim. The Turkish privatisation.... more
(25 May 2007 13:20)

3M to pay for perfluoro investigations
3M has reached an agreement with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) in which it will pay a total of $13m (€9.7m) to manage and.... more
(25 May 2007 13:20)

IN BRIEF - Environment Watch
JAPANESE BOOKLET TO EDUCATE THE YOUNG Japan's Ministry of the Environment has developed an e-learning version of its Detergent/Soap and.... more
(25 May 2007 13:20)

Marks & Spencer bans more pesticides
UK-based retailer Marks & Spencer has prohibited the use of a further 10 pesticides worldwide, as part of its pesticide reduction programme. .... more
(25 May 2007 13:20)

Industry M&A soars to a record $8bn
The global chemical industry completed $8bn (€5.9bn) worth of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) during the first quarter of this year, according to.... more
(25 May 2007 13:20)

Lenzing expands in US with filaments takeover
Austria's Lenzing has acquired the majority assets of US monofilament plastics maker Glassmaster through its subsidiary Lenzing Plastics for an.... more
(25 May 2007 13:20)

Blackstone sells out
Private equity investor Blackstone and the funds it advises took in nearly $785m (€583m) on 18 May with the completion of a secondary offering of.... more
(25 May 2007 13:20)

Conferences & Events
FECC Annual Congress 10-12 June Le Meridien Montparnasse, Paris, France Tel +32 2 6790260 Fax +32 2 6727355 Website www.fecc.org.... more
(25 May 2007 13:20)

Eka seals Brazil deal to supply pulp mill
Akzo Nobel's pulp and paper chemicals subsidiary, Eka Chemicals has signed a deal to supply, store and handle all chemicals for a 1.25m tonne/year.... more
(25 May 2007 13:20)

Yara cultivates its fertilizer business
Norwegian fertilizer producer Yara International has acquired the Finnish government's 30.05% stake in Kemira GrowHow, paying €12.12/share.... more
(25 May 2007 17:31)

DIARY - ICIS CONFERENCES
The 1st ICIS Asian Base Oils & Lubricants Conference Sponsored by Petronas 20-21 June Venue Mandarin Oriental, Kuala Lumpur,.... more
(25 May 2007 13:20)

IN BRIEF - Innovations
Amino acids receive german green light German biotech/fine chemicals company Amino has received EU certification for production of isoleucine.... more
(25 May 2007 13:20)

Chemical Prices A - E
Chemical Prices A - E .lb { FONT-SIZE: 10px; FONT-NAME: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; COLOR: #003063; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; TEXT-ALIGN:.... more
(21 May 2007 11:05)

Chemical Prices F - J
Chemical Prices F - J .lb { FONT-SIZE: 10px; FONT-NAME: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; COLOR: #003063; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; TEXT-ALIGN:.... more
(21 May 2007 11:05)

Chemical Prices K - O
Chemical Prices K - O .lb { FONT-SIZE: 10px; FONT-NAME: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; COLOR: #003063; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; TEXT-ALIGN:.... more
(21 May 2007 11:05)

Chemical Prices P - S
Chemical Prices P - S .lb { FONT-SIZE: 10px; FONT-NAME: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; COLOR: #003063; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; TEXT-ALIGN:.... more
(21 May 2007 11:05)

Chemical Prices T - Z
Chemical Prices T - Z .lb { FONT-SIZE: 10px; FONT-NAME: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; COLOR: #003063; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; TEXT-ALIGN:.... more
(21 May 2007 11:05)

SABIC gains big US footprint
SAUDI ARABIA'S SABIC has finally won its coveted place in US manufacturing, emerging victorious from a pool of worthy competitors with its $11.6bn.... more
(25 May 2007 17:44)

THINK TANK - Housing squeezes chemicals
The continuing and protracted slump in the housing market is going to further squeeze margins for a broad array of chemical manufacturers, and the.... more
(25 May 2007 16:04)

Surfactants: Tiny bubbles bring good growth
Higher raw material costs and intense competitionare not washing away innovation opportunitiesfor surfactants in cosmetics and personal care more
(25 May 2007 17:43)

Ethylene getting tight
  ETHYLENE PRICES are edging higher - and will probably climb some more as the market gets tight before a flood.... more
(25 May 2007 16:04)

Dowpharma enhances antibody
DOWPHARMA HAS enhanced its Pfenex Expression Technol-ogy with a newly designed high-throughput screening system that pushes the envelope in.... more
(25 May 2007 16:04)

Refrigerant talk heats up
THE FEDERAL government and other regulators worldwide are earning praise from environmental groups for the proposed accelerated phaseout of.... more
(25 May 2007 16:04)

Aniline
  DEMAND 2005: 2.255bn lbs. 2006: 2.195bn lbs. 2010: 2.565bn lbs., projected. Demand equals production.... more
(25 May 2007 16:04)

50 YEARS AGO and 100 YEARS AGO
ICIS Chemical Business Americas, formerly CMR, traces its roots back to 1871 when the publication was called Oil, Paint and Drug Reporter May.... more
(25 May 2007 16:04)

Who's moving where?
Megan Turner has been appointed by BASF as the business development manager for ionic liquids in its intermediates regional business unit in North.... more
(25 May 2007 16:04)

A peek into the global future
By 2020, how dominant will the Middle East really bein the global petrochemical and plastics scene?Where will the new worldscale crackers be built? more
(25 May 2007 16:04)

IN BRIEF - Environment
MIXED BAG OF RESULTS FOR DISTRIBUTION The UK's Chemical Business Association's latest annual Responsible Care Indices of Performance (IoP) says.... more
(25 May 2007 16:04)

Businesses slow on climate change
Businesses in the Asia-Pacific region are taking the challenge of climate change more seriously than their counterparts in the rest of the.... more
(25 May 2007 17:45)

Apple to oust toxic chemicals
Computer maker Apple has responded to its critics by setting out its plans to eliminate toxic chemicals from its products by 2008. Environmental.... more
(25 May 2007 16:04)

INEOS does two PVC deals
INEOS is buying Norsk Hydro's chlor-alkali-to-polyvinyl chloride (PVC) business for Norwegian kroner (NKr) 5.5bn ($912m). The business, recently.... more
(25 May 2007 16:04)

IN BRIEF - Europe watch
Akzo Nobel adds coverage in US Akzo Nobel is buying North America's largest privately held industrial wood coatings producer, Chemcraft.... more
(25 May 2007 16:04)

Borealis revels in Q1 operating profits
Borealis reported a first-quarter (Q1) 2007 operating profit of €127m ($172m), sharply higher than the €36m recorded in the corresponding period of.... more
(25 May 2007 16:04)

Turkish firm gets bids
INEOS and Basell have separately made prequalifying bids for a 51% stake in Turkish petrochemical major Petkim. The Turkish privatization.... more
(25 May 2007 16:04)

EU INSIDER - EU-Russian standoff in Samara
As widely expected, the EU-Russia summit held in Samara, Russia, May 17-18 produced "no concrete results." The meeting was overshadowed by an.... more
(25 May 2007 16:04)

Mailiao cracker start-up spells trouble for plastics
The impending start-up of Formosa Petrochemical's new naphtha cracker in Taiwan, which should produce 1.2m tonnes/year of ethylene, along with other.... more
(25 May 2007 16:04)

IN BRIEF - Asia watch
ExxonMobil to add elastomers in Asia ExxonMobil Chemical is mulling construction of its first specialty elastomers plant in Asia. The proposed.... more
(25 May 2007 16:04)