Americas top stories: weekly summary

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Here are the top stories from ICIS News from the week ended 12 July.

Tropical Storm Barry raises chem prices as more oil rigs shut in
Tropical Storm Barry’s passage through the Gulf of Mexico has caused commodity chemical prices to rise because of higher crude prices, caused by companies shutting in oil rigs.

Louisiana petchem producers planning to ride out the storm
With no chemical plants in Louisiana shut down yet and only one refinery closed because of Tropical Storm Barry, it looks now like the state’s petrochemical industry will ride it out.

Half of US Gulf oil production shut in because of Barry
A little more than half of the current oil production in the Gulf of Mexico has been shut-in because of preparations for Tropical Storm Barry, a federal agency said.

US Louisiana declares emergency ahead of possible hurricane
Louisiana governor John Bel Edwards declared a state of emergency because of the low-pressure system bearing down on the US state from the Gulf of Mexico.

INSIGHT: BASF profit warning signals major chemicals slowdown in second half
BASF’s profit warning signals a major slowdown for the petrochemicals sector globally into the second half of the year.

Chevron Phillips, Qatar sign deal to build US petchem complex
Chevron Phillips Chemical and Qatar Petroleum signed an agreement to build an $8bn petrochemical complex on the US Gulf Coast, Chevron Phillips said.

BASF’s stock down as sharply weaker guidance hints at ‘more pain’ ahead
BASF shares were trading down on Tuesday morning after the German chemical major’s core business suffered “sharply weaker than expected” trading conditions in the second quarter, chemicals analysts said.

German BASF cuts Q2, full year earnings outlook
BASF expects its Q2 and full-year earnings to fall significantly below forecasts from analysts and the company’s own expectations, the German producer said.

US Enterprise to expand PGP, LPG, oil capacity at Houston terminal
US Enterprise Products announced additional expansion projects for loading polymer grade propylene (PGP), liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and crude oil at the company’s terminal on the Houston Ship Channel.

PTT, Daelim lines up $30m grant for proposed US petchem project in Ohio
PTT Global Chemical America (PTTGCA) and Daelim Industrial were approved for a $30m economic-development grant for a proposed petrochemical project the two may develop in the US state of Ohio, the companies said.