This week's world news

02 February 2009 00:00  [Source: ICB]

Rohm and Haas sues Dow over merger delay
US specialty chemical producer Rohm and Haas sued compatriot Dow Chemical last week, accusing the company of breaching an agreement to close on a $18.8bn (€14.5bn) merger (see page 14). Rohm and Haas asked the Delaware Chancery Court to order Dow to immediately close the deal. Rohm and Haas did not specify damages, saying an order for Dow to close the deal would eliminate any need to calculate such amounts. While such damages would be enormous, they would still be imprecise, Rohm and Haas said. Under the merger agreement, Dow was supposed to close the deal by last Tuesday, two business days after it received final regulatory approval.

Dow needs to negotiate to delay Rohm and Haas
Dow Chemical may need to negotiate a formal agreement with Rohm and Haas to delay the closing of the deal, especially if the court indicates it will act quickly in the case, Moody's Investors Service analyst John Rogers said last week. The Delaware Chancery Court, where Rohm and Haas filed its lawsuit against Dow on January 26, has set a trial date of March 9 (see above). "I believe it is fiscally prudent for Dow to delay the merger with Rohm and Haas until they have delineated the specific sources for the refinancing of the $13bn [$10bn]bridge loan," said Rogers, head of the chemical group at Moody's, in a research note.

Clariant to cut 1,000 jobs, sales drop 5%
Clariant plans to cut 1,000 jobs to reduce costs during the downturn, as the Swiss specialty chemical company reported a 5% drop in sales for the full year 2008. Sales fell to Swiss francs (Swfr) 8.1bn ($7.1bn, €5.4bn) from Swfr8.5bn in 2007. The company did not release profit figures, but said full-year guidance on earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) and cash flow were met with an operating margin before exceptionals in the range of 6.5-6.8%. Clariant said the decline in sales was caused by a dramatic deterioration of demand in the fourth quarter to key end-user markets such as textiles, leather, automotive and construction.

industry CEOs plan to delay investments
More than two-thirds of chemical CEOs expect financing costs to increase, forcing them to delay investments, while more than half believe they will have to reduce growth expectations, according to a study released by UK consultant PricewaterhouseCoopers. It surveyed the leaders of 48 chemical firms about challenges facing the industry, and found that only 17% were confident they could increase revenues in 2009, compared with 39% of those surveyed in 2008. In addition to weakened demand, financing was a key concern, with 65% of respondents concerned that the disruption of the capital markets would affect their expansion plans.

US business leaders critical of stimulus bill
US chemical and other business leaders have urged Congress to focus on energy and tax cuts in the $850bn (€646bn) economic stimulus bill, as opponents of the measure warned that it would do little for the economy. Cal Dooley, president of the American Chemistry Council (ACC), welcomed the $50bn that the draft stimulus bill would invest in clean energy and efficiency projects, but said that level of spending was not enough. "We believe the $50bn-plus of clean energy investments is a good start, but we are urging the Congress to increase the government investment devoted to energy and physical infrastructure programs," an ACC spokeswoman said in a summary of Dooley's remarks to legislators.

economic climate weak for US fine chemicals
A higher number of US fine and specialty chemical companies expect sales to decline this year, as business conditions deteriorate, according to the latest annual business outlook survey of the Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturers Association (SOCMA). A survey conducted by SOCMA from 13 November through 22 December, 2008 received responses from about one-third of its 300-strong members. Among the 95 survey respondents, 27% expect sales to drop in 2009, compared with just 7% expecting the same in the 2007 survey. Those expecting better sales this year represented 62% of the respondents, down from 88% in the previous survey.

US PPG to cut deeper, 4,500 jobs at stake
US chemicals, coatings and glass producer PPG Industries may cut up to 4,500 jobs, as it responds to the global economic downturn, according to a US news report. The cuts would come on top of employment reductions, plant closures and the restructuring that was announced in September, the report by Bloomberg said. A media spokesman at PPG's headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, did not provide immediate additional comment. The report quoted PPG CEO Charles Bunch as saying the job reductions would be decided later this quarter and would likely be focused on PPG's automotive customer markets.

Romania's Petrom to SLASH workforce by 3,000
Romanian oil and chemicals group Petrom will cut 3,000 jobs, or around 10% of its work force, starting next month. "The decision is part of a restructuring program we started four years ago. All dismissed workers will receive 15-monthly compensatory salaries," said Petrom spokesman Dan Pazara. Petrom, which owns the two petrochemical plants Arpechim Pitesti and Petrobrazi Ploiesti, as well as fertilizer producer Doljchim Craiova, is majority owned by Austria's OMV.

DuPont approves $1.7m bonus for former HEAD
Former DuPont CEO Charles Holliday has been awarded a $1.7m (€1.3m) incentive payment, according to a regulatory filing made on the same day that a $629m fourth-quarter loss was reported by the chemical producer. DuPont reported the short-term incentive payment in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition to Holliday's incentive payment, the DuPont board voted to pay him a retainer of $750,000/year for his new role as nonemployee board chairman. Holliday retired last week. The board also granted approval to a short-term incentive payment of $718,000 for DuPont's new CEO, Ellen Kullman.

US Cabot to AXES jobs as Q1 net profits slump
US specialty chemical producer Cabot will eliminate 500 jobs as the pervading slump in demand hit its business hard, causing its first quarter to December net profits to fall by 89% year-on-year, to $4m (€3.04m). The 12% reduction in the company's global workforce is part of the company's restructuring strategy, which should generate a fixed annual cost saving of more than $80m from fiscal year 2010. "These actions are necessary and allow us to respond to the current market conditions, while building a more efficient and lower-cost manufacturing network," said Patrick Prevost, president and CEO of Cabot.

China Dec import hike driven by restocking
China's petrochemical import volumes for December 2008 saw a month-on-month recovery, driven by restocking activities, rather than a shift in demand fundamentals, industry sources said last week. "Importers cut back their purchases in October and November due to economic uncertainty, hence imports during these two months were much lower than last year's monthly averages," a South Korean polyethylene (PE) producer said. "I think this is just coming back up from a state where it just could not get any worse and people had to buy to maintain operations, even if it was low to begin with," added Sutthichai Kumworachai, a petrochemical analyst with Bangkok-based brokerage KGI Securities.

Azelis expects stellar growth from Russia
Azelis is targeting stellar sales growth in Russia to €100m ($132m) within five years from the €20m projected for 2009, the European chemical distributor said last week. Russia has huge growth potential for western chemical distributors, according to Azelis group director, marketing, Michel Dubois. The company is ­planning to expand operations eastwards into Siberia, with a warehouse and three new staff this year, he added. Dubois said Western distributors such as Azelis could benefit from consolidation in the Russian distribution market.

Biesterfeld CEO eyes growth in Russia
German distributor Biesterfeld will take on more staff and expand warehousing in Russia as it seeks to fulfil an ambitious target 20%/year sales growth at its specialties operation. In an interview with ICIS, the company's CEO, Birger Kuck, said doubling staff from five to 10 this year will allow the specialties division, Biesterfeld Spezialchemie, to take full advantage of significant growth potential in the St. Petersburg and Moscow regions. He also revealed plans to open a new warehouse in Nishnij Nowgorod in 2010. Kuck hopes to achieve growth by expanding into silicones, power and electronics.

Shell reports $831m Q4 loss in chemicals
Royal Dutch Shell has reported a fourth-quarter loss of $831m (€631.6m) in its chemicals segment due to a significant inventory impact, compared with earnings of $501m for the same period in 2007. Shell said the $831m loss in its chemicals segment for the 2008 quarter reflected "net realised inventory effects due to declining commodity prices". Chemicals volumes were down 20% year on year, as reduced global demand for chemicals products pushed capacity utilisation down to 67% from 86% in the fourth quarter of 2007.

thermoplastic resin demand climbs in brazil
Brazil's apparent consumption of thermoplastic resins - the sum of domestic production plus imports, minus exports - rose by 8% in 2008, compared with the year before. This took the total above 4.7m tonnes, despite a decline in domestic production, which, at 4.5m tonnes, fell by 6.9% last year. This was largely because of maintenance and capacity enlargement turnarounds in the petrochemical centres of Camacari, Triunfo and ABC, according to the Brazilian newspaper Journal de Comercio. Exports dropped by 31.8%, to around 761,000 tonnes, while imports grew by 47.4% to more than 1m tonnes.

japan's shin-etsu sees its net income falter
Japanese producer Shin-Etsu Chemical's nine-month net income fell by 1% year on year to yen (Y) 142bn ($1.59bn), largely due to sluggish domestic demand and a slump in polyvinyl chloride (PVC) exports. Consolidated net sales for the nine months ending on December 31 fell by 2.8% to Y1.014 trillion, while net sales in the organic and inorganic chemicals segment dropped by 1.8% to Y523.6bn.

meeting told nabucco pipeline is essential
Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek told delegates at the Nabucco Summit in Budapest, Hungary, last Tuesday that the EU must push ahead with the Nabucco pipeline. He said Russia's supply initiatives alone would mean a dangerous dependency on its natural gas. This follows January's gas supply standoff between Russia and Ukraine, which hit EU supplies. A unified EU energy policy is an objective of the Czech presidency of the EU, due to run until July, he said. Nabucco, costing €6bn-8bn ($8bn-11bn) and 3,300km (2,046 miles) long, would bypass Russia in delivering Caspian Sea region gas to the heart of Europe. Nabucco has asked the European Investment Bank to help finance the project.

Rohm and Haas sues Dow over merger delay
US specialty chemical producer Rohm and Haas sued compatriot Dow Chemical last week, accusing the company of breaching an agreement to close on a $18.8bn (€14.5bn) merger (see page 14). Rohm and Haas asked the Delaware Chancery Court to order Dow to immediately close the deal. Rohm and Haas did not specify damages, saying an order for Dow to close the deal would eliminate any need to calculate such amounts. While such damages would be enormous, they would still be imprecise, Rohm and Haas said. Under the merger agreement, Dow was supposed to close the deal by last Tuesday, two business days after it received final regulatory approval.

Dow needs to negotiate to delay Rohm and Haas
Dow Chemical may need to negotiate a formal agreement with Rohm and Haas to delay the closing of the deal, especially if the court indicates it will act quickly in the case, Moody's Investors Service analyst John Rogers said last week. The Delaware Chancery Court, where Rohm and Haas filed its lawsuit against Dow on January 26, has set a trial date of March 9 (see above). "I believe it is fiscally prudent for Dow to delay the merger with Rohm and Haas until they have delineated the specific sources for the refinancing of the $13bn [$10bn]bridge loan," said Rogers, head of the chemical group at Moody's, in a research note.

Clariant to cut 1,000 jobs, sales drop 5%
Clariant plans to cut 1,000 jobs to reduce costs during the downturn, as the Swiss specialty chemical company reported a 5% drop in sales for the full year 2008. Sales fell to Swiss francs (Swfr) 8.1bn ($7.1bn, €5.4bn) from Swfr8.5bn in 2007. The company did not release profit figures, but said full-year guidance on earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) and cash flow were met with an operating margin before exceptionals in the range of 6.5-6.8%. Clariant said the decline in sales was caused by a dramatic deterioration of demand in the fourth quarter to key end-user markets such as textiles, leather, automotive and construction.

industry CEOs plan to delay investments
More than two-thirds of chemical CEOs expect financing costs to increase, forcing them to delay investments, while more than half believe they will have to reduce growth expectations, according to a study released by UK consultant PricewaterhouseCoopers. It surveyed the leaders of 48 chemical firms about challenges facing the industry, and found that only 17% were confident they could increase revenues in 2009, compared with 39% of those surveyed in 2008. In addition to weakened demand, financing was a key concern, with 65% of respondents concerned that the disruption of the capital markets would affect their expansion plans.

US business leaders critical of stimulus bill
US chemical and other business leaders have urged Congress to focus on energy and tax cuts in the $850bn (€646bn) economic stimulus bill, as opponents of the measure warned that it would do little for the economy. Cal Dooley, president of the American Chemistry Council (ACC), welcomed the $50bn that the draft stimulus bill would invest in clean energy and efficiency projects, but said that level of spending was not enough. "We believe the $50bn-plus of clean energy investments is a good start, but we are urging the Congress to increase the government investment devoted to energy and physical infrastructure programs," an ACC spokeswoman said in a summary of Dooley's remarks to legislators.

economic climate weak for US fine chemicals
A higher number of US fine and specialty chemical companies expect sales to decline this year, as business conditions deteriorate, according to the latest annual business outlook survey of the Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturers Association (SOCMA). A survey conducted by SOCMA from 13 November through 22 December, 2008 received responses from about one-third of its 300-strong members. Among the 95 survey respondents, 27% expect sales to drop in 2009, compared with just 7% expecting the same in the 2007 survey. Those expecting better sales this year represented 62% of the respondents, down from 88% in the previous survey.

US PPG to cut deeper, 4,500 jobs at stake
US chemicals, coatings and glass producer PPG Industries may cut up to 4,500 jobs, as it responds to the global economic downturn, according to a US news report. The cuts would come on top of employment reductions, plant closures and the restructuring that was announced in September, the report by Bloomberg said. A media spokesman at PPG's headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, did not provide immediate additional comment. The report quoted PPG CEO Charles Bunch as saying the job reductions would be decided later this quarter and would likely be focused on PPG's automotive customer markets.

Romania's Petrom to SLASH workforce by 3,000
Romanian oil and chemicals group Petrom will cut 3,000 jobs, or around 10% of its work force, starting next month. "The decision is part of a restructuring program we started four years ago. All dismissed workers will receive 15-monthly compensatory salaries," said Petrom spokesman Dan Pazara. Petrom, which owns the two petrochemical plants Arpechim Pitesti and Petrobrazi Ploiesti, as well as fertilizer producer Doljchim Craiova, is majority owned by Austria's OMV.

DuPont approves $1.7m bonus for former HEAD
Former DuPont CEO Charles Holliday has been awarded a $1.7m (€1.3m) incentive payment, according to a regulatory filing made on the same day that a $629m fourth-quarter loss was reported by the chemical producer. DuPont reported the short-term incentive payment in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition to Holliday's incentive payment, the DuPont board voted to pay him a retainer of $750,000/year for his new role as nonemployee board chairman. Holliday retired last week. The board also granted approval to a short-term incentive payment of $718,000 for DuPont's new CEO, Ellen Kullman.

US Cabot to AXES jobs as Q1 net profits slump
US specialty chemical producer Cabot will eliminate 500 jobs as the pervading slump in demand hit its business hard, causing its first quarter to December net profits to fall by 89% year-on-year, to $4m (€3.04m). The 12% reduction in the company's global workforce is part of the company's restructuring strategy, which should generate a fixed annual cost saving of more than $80m from fiscal year 2010. "These actions are necessary and allow us to respond to the current market conditions, while building a more efficient and lower-cost manufacturing network," said Patrick Prevost, president and CEO of Cabot.

China Dec import hike driven by restocking
China's petrochemical import volumes for December 2008 saw a month-on-month recovery, driven by restocking activities, rather than a shift in demand fundamentals, industry sources said last week. "Importers cut back their purchases in October and November due to economic uncertainty, hence imports during these two months were much lower than last year's monthly averages," a South Korean polyethylene (PE) producer said. "I think this is just coming back up from a state where it just could not get any worse and people had to buy to maintain operations, even if it was low to begin with," added Sutthichai Kumworachai, a petrochemical analyst with Bangkok-based brokerage KGI Securities.

Azelis expects stellar growth from Russia
Azelis is targeting stellar sales growth in Russia to €100m ($132m) within five years from the €20m projected for 2009, the European chemical distributor said last week. Russia has huge growth potential for western chemical distributors, according to Azelis group director, marketing, Michel Dubois. The company is ­planning to expand operations eastwards into Siberia, with a warehouse and three new staff this year, he added. Dubois said Western distributors such as Azelis could benefit from consolidation in the Russian distribution market.

Biesterfeld CEO eyes growth in Russia
German distributor Biesterfeld will take on more staff and expand warehousing in Russia as it seeks to fulfil an ambitious target 20%/year sales growth at its specialties operation. In an interview with ICIS, the company's CEO, Birger Kuck, said doubling staff from five to 10 this year will allow the specialties division, Biesterfeld Spezialchemie, to take full advantage of significant growth potential in the St. Petersburg and Moscow regions. He also revealed plans to open a new warehouse in Nishnij Nowgorod in 2010. Kuck hopes to achieve growth by expanding into silicones, power and electronics.

Shell reports $831m Q4 loss in chemicals
Royal Dutch Shell has reported a fourth-quarter loss of $831m (€631.6m) in its chemicals segment due to a significant inventory impact, compared with earnings of $501m for the same period in 2007. Shell said the $831m loss in its chemicals segment for the 2008 quarter reflected "net realised inventory effects due to declining commodity prices". Chemicals volumes were down 20% year on year, as reduced global demand for chemicals products pushed capacity utilisation down to 67% from 86% in the fourth quarter of 2007.

thermoplastic resin demand climbs in brazil
Brazil's apparent consumption of thermoplastic resins - the sum of domestic production plus imports, minus exports - rose by 8% in 2008, compared with the year before. This took the total above 4.7m tonnes, despite a decline in domestic production, which, at 4.5m tonnes, fell by 6.9% last year. This was largely because of maintenance and capacity enlargement turnarounds in the petrochemical centres of Camacari, Triunfo and ABC, according to the Brazilian newspaper Journal de Comercio. Exports dropped by 31.8%, to around 761,000 tonnes, while imports grew by 47.4% to more than 1m tonnes.

japan's shin-etsu sees its net income falter
Japanese producer Shin-Etsu Chemical's nine-month net income fell by 1% year on year to yen (Y) 142bn ($1.59bn), largely due to sluggish domestic demand and a slump in polyvinyl chloride (PVC) exports. Consolidated net sales for the nine months ending on December 31 fell by 2.8% to Y1.014 trillion, while net sales in the organic and inorganic chemicals segment dropped by 1.8% to Y523.6bn.

meeting told nabucco pipeline is essential
Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek told delegates at the Nabucco Summit in Budapest, Hungary, last Tuesday that the EU must push ahead with the Nabucco pipeline. He said Russia's supply initiatives alone would mean a dangerous dependency on its natural gas. This follows January's gas supply standoff between Russia and Ukraine, which hit EU supplies. A unified EU energy policy is an objective of the Czech presidency of the EU, due to run until July, he said. Nabucco, costing €6bn-8bn ($8bn-11bn) and 3,300km (2,046 miles) long, would bypass Russia in delivering Caspian Sea region gas to the heart of Europe. Nabucco has asked the European Investment Bank to help finance the project.

tanker set free by pirates, crew unharmed
A spokesman for US-based Industrial Shipping Enterprises - owner of the chemical tanker MT Biscaglia released by Somali pirates on January 24 - has refused to say whether a ransom was paid. Reuters news agency quoted a Kenyan maritime official saying the Liberian-flagged vessel was freed on the Saturday after a ransom was air-dropped onto the ship's deck. Hijacked on November 28, the 27,350 deadweight tonne, 1986-built Biscaglia was traveling from Indonesia to Barcelona, Spain, with a cargo of palm oil. It was about 300 miles (483km) off the Somali coast near the Horn of Africa when pirates in a skiff attacked. All 28 crew members were unharmed.

job losses announced by flint hills resources
US refining and chemical company Flint Hills Resources (FHR) will lay off 169 workers from its Odessa plant in Texas over the next two months, according to the Texas Workforce Commission. The news follows 27 job losses in January. FHR is expected to permanently decommission its Odessa operations by the end of June. As a result, 454 employees will lose their jobs.

ineos'S credit rating suffers in downturn
US credit ratings service Moody's has downgraded its credit rating for UK-based producer INEOS. Moody's dropped its corporate family rating from "B3" to "Caa2" - a grade given to companies with "extremely poor credit quality." Moody's said recent operating figures from INEOS suggested a substantial weakening in the operating environment and some reduction in its liquidity position. The agency also gave INEOS a negative outlook, reflecting Moody's expectation that the company's credit profile would remain affected in the medium term.

deer park units being restarted by shell
Shell has begun the restart process for a hydrocracking unit and two sulfur recovery units at its 340,000 bbl/day Deer Park refinery in Texas, US. The restart began on January 25 and will last until February 2. Maintenance started on January 2.

RUSSIAN FERTILIZER AND RUBBER OUTPUT FALLS 6%
Russia's total 2008 mineral fertilizer production was down by 5.9% year on year to 16.3m tonnes, says statistical agency Rosstat. Ammonia production was down by 3.6% to 12.7m tonnes. Russia's overall plastics production fell by 3.9% to 4.3m tonnes, while synthetic rubber output reached 1.14m tonnes - which marks a drop of 6.1%.

pfizer to acquire wyeth after borrowing $22.5bn
New York-based drug maker Pfizer will buy rival US pharmaceutical group Wyeth for $68bn (€52bn). The company agreed to pay $50.19 per share through a combination of cash, debt and stock. It borrowed $22.5bn from a consortium of banks to help fund the acquisition. The deal is expected to create cost savings of about $4bn, which would be fully realized in the fourth year after closing, said Pfizer.

bayer builds german nanotubes facility
Germany's Bayer has started building a 200 tonne/year carbon nanotubes plant in Leverkusen. Some 20 jobs will be created after a €22m ($29m) investment in the project. Global carbon nanotube sales are set to grow by 25%/year to reach annual revenues of $2bn in a decade.

pvc reactor closes for maintenance in texas
Taiwanese-headquartered Formosa Plastics shut down a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) reactor for maintenance at its Point Comfort plant in Texas on January 25. It will remain closed until February 3. A spokesman said the shutdown was routine.

TANKER SET FREE BY PIRATES, CREW UNHARMED
A spokesman for US-based Industrial Shipping Enterprises - owner of the chemical tanker MT Biscaglia released by Somali pirates on January 24 - has refused to say whether a ransom was paid. Reuters news agency quoted a Kenyan maritime official saying the Liberian-flagged vessel was freed on the Saturday after a ransom was air-dropped onto the ship's deck. Hijacked on November 28, the 27,350 deadweight tonne, 1986-built Biscaglia was traveling from Indonesia to Barcelona, Spain, with a cargo of palm oil. It was about 300 miles (483km) off the Somali coast near the Horn of Africa when pirates in a skiff attacked. All 28 crew members were unharmed.

job losses announced by flint hills resources
US refining and chemical company Flint Hills Resources (FHR) will lay off 169 workers from its Odessa plant in Texas over the next two months, according to the Texas Workforce Commission. The news follows 27 job losses in January. FHR is expected to permanently decommission its Odessa operations by the end of June. As a result, 454 employees will lose their jobs.

ineos'S credit rating suffers in downturn
US credit ratings service Moody's has downgraded its credit rating for UK-based producer INEOS. Moody's dropped its corporate family rating from "B3" to "Caa2" - a grade given to companies with "extremely poor credit quality." Moody's said recent operating figures from INEOS suggested a substantial weakening in the operating environment and some reduction in its liquidity position. The agency also gave INEOS a negative outlook, reflecting Moody's expectation that the company's credit profile would remain affected in the medium term.

deer park units being restarted by shell
Shell has begun the restart process for a hydrocracking unit and two sulfur recovery units at its 340,000 bbl/day Deer Park refinery in Texas, US. The restart began on January 25 and will last until February 2. Maintenance started on January 2.

RUSSIAN FERTILIZER AND RUBBER OUTPUT FALLS 6%
Russia's total 2008 mineral fertilizer production was down by 5.9% year on year to 16.3m tonnes, says statistical agency Rosstat. Ammonia production was down by 3.6% to 12.7m tonnes. Russia's overall plastics production fell by 3.9% to 4.3m tonnes, while synthetic rubber output reached 1.14m tonnes - which marks a drop of 6.1%.

pfizer to acquire wyeth after borrowing $22.5bn
New York-based drug maker Pfizer will buy rival US pharmaceutical group Wyeth for $68bn (€52bn). The company agreed to pay $50.19 per share through a combination of cash, debt and stock. It borrowed $22.5bn from a consortium of banks to help fund the acquisition. The deal is expected to create cost savings of about $4bn, which would be fully realized in the fourth year after closing, said Pfizer.

bayer builds german nanotubes facility
Germany's Bayer has started building a 200 tonne/year carbon nanotubes plant in Leverkusen. Some 20 jobs will be created after a €22m ($29m) investment in the project. Global carbon nanotube sales are set to grow by 25%/year to reach annual revenues of $2bn in a decade.

pvc reactor closes for maintenance in texas
Taiwanese-headquartered Formosa Plastics shut down a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) reactor for maintenance at its Point Comfort plant in Texas on January 25. It will remain closed until February 3. A spokesman said the shutdown was routine.

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