Americas top stories - weekly summary

13 June 2011 15:00  [Source: ICIS news]

HOUSTON (ICIS)--Here are some of the top stories from ICIS Americas for the week ended 10 June 2011.

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US declares styrene to be an ‘anticipated human carcinogen’US federal health regulators on Friday declared that styrene is “reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen”, a classification that sector officials have warned could have broad negative impact across multiple US industries.

US to cite styrene as likely carcinogen, industry to file suit
US federal health regulators on Friday are expected to list styrene as a likely carcinogen, chemical sector officials said, adding that they are already preparing a legal challenge to the controversial action.

BP to restart PTA production at Alabama and South Carolina units
BP plans to restore commercial production of purified terephthalic acid (PTA) at its sites in Decatur, Alabama, and Cooper River, South Carolina, by the end of next week, a company source said on Thursday.

US June propylene contracts fall by 15 cents/lb
US June propylene contracts settled down by 15 cents/lb ($331/tonne, €225/tonne) from May, market sources confirmed on Wednesday.

Dow sees shale gas ‘renaissance’ for US chemicals sector
New and abundant supplies of shale gas have triggered the largest petrochemical investments seen in North America in a generation, a top Dow Chemical official said on Wednesday, and will drive a surge in jobs, domestic business and exports.

US PVC industry supports proposed EPA rule, asks to consider options
US polyvinyl chloride (PVC) industry representatives on Tuesday voiced support for a proposed rule regulating emissions from plants, but asked the federal environmental agency to consider flexible options for the numerous varieties of the resin.

Shell may bring partner on PE component of new US cracker
Shell could go it alone on any polyethylene (PE) component of its plan for a cracker project in the US, but it would also contemplate teaming up with another company, an executive said on Monday.

Shell developing plans for worldscale ethylene plant in US
Shell is developing plans for a worldscale ethylene plant with integrated derivative units in the Appalachian region of the US, to take advantage of the area’s Marcellus shale gas reserves, the Anglo-Dutch oil major said on Monday.

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