Americas top stories: weekly summary

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Here are the top stories from ICIS News from the week ended 8 February.

Pembina, PIC makes FID to build Canada PDH/PP facility
Pembina Pipeline and joint venture partner Petrochemical Industries of Kuwait (PIC) have made the financial investment decision (FID) to build a 550,000 tonne/year integrated propane dehydrogenation (PDH) and polypropylene (PP) facility in Alberta, Canada, the midstream company announced on Monday.

US CP Chem seeks incentives for proposed cracker, downstream unit
US-based Chevron Phillips Chemical (CP Chem) is seeking tax incentives for a possible cracker and at least one downstream unit in Orange County, Texas, according to government documents.

Lotte Chemical starts up US EG unit; LACC cracker to start up in H1 2019
The new ethylene glycol (EG) unit at Lotte Chemical’s facility in Lake Charles, Louisiana, has started production, according to a company source.

Cowen breaks consensus, expects rough second-half for US chems
The investment bank Cowen expects petrochemical companies will continue to face challenges in the second half of this year, breaking from the consensus that the market will stage a recovery from the slowdown in the fourth quarter.

Sasol’s US Lake Charles cracker completion pushed back five months as costs mount
Sasol has pushed back the estimated start-up date for its new cracker in Lake Charles, Louisiana to July, a five-month delay from its most recent estimate, as projected costs of the petrochemicals complex continue to rise, the South Africa-headquartered producer said on Friday.