Americas top stories: weekly summary

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Here are the top stories from ICIS News from the week ended 29 January.

US February BD contract nominations announced lower amid improving supply
US February butadiene (BD) contract nominations were separately announced lower, according to market sources.

US Shintech to invest $1.3bn for facilities expansion in Louisiana
Shintech will invest $1.3bn to expand its manufacturing and packaging facilities in Iberville and West Baton Rouge in Louisiana, the US-based polyvinyl chloride (PVC) producer said.

Lower US benzene prices creating mixed market activity in early 2021
Retreating US spot benzene is creating mixed market conditions at the outset of 2021, recent ICIS analysis shows.

Dow sees momentum in PE, PU driving earnings gains in Q1, 2021
US-based Dow expects continued momentum in polyethylene (PE) and polyurethanes (PU) driving further earnings growth in Q1 and 2021 following a strong Q4 that soundly beat Wall Street consensus estimates.

JVs, stronger polymers drive up LyondellBasell Q4 profits
Stronger polyolefins margins and contributions from new joint venture stakes drove LyondellBasell’s fourth-quarter earnings to the highest level in years, despite the impact of refining sector losses, the producer said on Friday.

Celanese raises capacity of Clear Lake acetic acid project, evaluating methanol options
US-based acetyls producer Celanese has increased the capacity of its acetic acid expansion project in Clear Lake, Texas, and is looking into options for supplying feedstock methanol once the project is complete, the company said on Friday.