ICIS Blogs : bp

Verenium: BP responds

The Big Biofuels Blog — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 15:48:20 GMT

I've just had this email from the press office at BP about its joint venture with Verenium which was mentioned in an earlier post today . We remain focused on commercializing the technology that we are developing jointly with Verenium and continue...(read more)

Verenium and Aventine in difficulties: Reuters

The Big Biofuels Blog — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 15:16:48 GMT

Verenium could have difficulty continuing as a company, its auditors say in a report from Reuters yesterday and carried in the UK's Guardian Business Feed .The same report says Aventine may need to take Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Key points...(read more)

BP pays $180m for clean air violations

Green Chemicals — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 16:09:19 GMT

The US Department of Justice has fined BP Products North America almost $180 million for violating EPA's Clean Air Act regulations at its Texas City, Texas refinery. BP agreed to the settlement and will spend more than $161m on pollution controls...(read more)

More on BP Vereneum

The Big Biofuels Blog — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 11:10:33 GMT

Last night the press office at BP emailed me with more details on the agreement with Verenium . I like the way they talk about "energy cane" and "energy grasses" presumably energy cane is the stuff left behind after sugar processing...(read more)

BP ups Verenium investment

The Big Biofuels Blog — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 10:27:18 GMT

BP is upping its investment in Verenium by to $122.5m , according to Gas 2.0 blog, which has more details. Key point for me is that this is a non-food route to biofuel, though the source, the Wall St Journal, hides more details behind the subscription...(read more)

Top Chemical Adverts No. 6 - BP at Heathrow

ICIS Chemicals Confidential — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 07:02:47 GMT

I've just seen these BP billboard ads all over London's Heathrow airport. Click here to view the campaign. It seems that the campaign has also won Greenpeace's Emerald Paintbrush Award , and that Greenpeace has created its own spoof advert...(read more)

Business week spots butanol

The Big Biofuels Blog — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 09:48:21 GMT

Business Week has an article on biobutanol. As a run down of where we are with butanol its worth having, but there's no real peg for the story. Read More......(read more)

Decision time in Europe, N America

Chemicals & The Economy — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 15:52:55 GMT

Many Asian companies have been cutting back petchem production in recent weeks. Now TOTAL have become the first to follow suit in Europe, with the announcement that they will shutdown the Carling No 2 cracker for a month from mid-November. These decisions...(read more)

Gustav points to a much bigger problem

Asian Chemical Connections — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 02:46:24 GMT

The good news on the radio as I came into work this morning was that Hurricane Gustav had weakened in intensity with forecasts that it might make landfall in the US with wind speeds of less than had been earlier feared. But this is not the point. The...(read more)

BP investst in Verenium

The Big Biofuels Blog — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 11:29:56 GMT

There's a Wall Street Journal article about BP investing $90 m in Verenium a US cellulosic ethanol technology company. Both firms hope to start a jointly making biofuel in a few years. The WSJ says this is BP's first venture into cellulosic biofuel...(read more)

The river doesn't just run black

Asian Chemical Connections — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 15:01:09 GMT

China and the environment might not be only about rivers changing colour several times a day and factories belching out air pollution that kills hundreds of thousands of people prematurely every year. Elizabeth Economy outlined the extent of China's...(read more)

Oil chief gets Russian visa

ICIS Chemicals Confidential — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 17:56:58 GMT

Visa problems don't come much bigger than those facing Anglo-Russian oil giant TNK-BP's chief executive, Robert Dudley. I've had a few anxious visa moments myself, the last one being when my China visa application was turned down twice on...(read more)

Interesting quotes (5)

Chemicals & The Economy — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 13:14:29 GMT

Every now and then , a few interesting quotes come along, which seem to recent summarise developments, and set the tone for the next few months. The last few days is a good example of this process at work: 'The era of cheap energy is over, as oil...(read more)

Praj wins big biofuel contract to supply Vivergo

The Big Biofuels Blog — Thu, 22 May 2008 09:32:36 GMT

Praj has won a big biofuels contract to supply key equipment to Vivergo Fuels , UK through its subsidiary, BioCnergy Europa B. V, a Joint Venture with Aker Solutions, Netherlands , according to myiris.com,. The plant is designed to produce 400m litre...(read more)

Russian crude supply 'peaking'

Chemicals & The Economy — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 10:46:37 GMT

Russia is the world’s 2nd largest oil producer. And it has been the main source of increased crude production in recent years. Its output rose 58% between 1999-2006, from 6.2mbd to 9.8mbd. Now Lukoil’s VP, Leonid Fedun, has told the Financial Times that...(read more)