Americas top stories: weekly summary

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Here are the top stories from ICIS News from the week ended 16 April.

NOVA targets ’22 start-up of Canada cracker, PE project
NOVA Chemicals has surpassed 65% completion for its second Advanced SCLAIRTECH technology (AST) polyethylene (PE) unit and the third phase of its Corunna cracker expansion project, the company said on Monday.

Industry must act fast on plastics recycling as societal pressure mounts
The chemical industry must accelerate investment in plastics recycling to achieve scale as activist and government pressures mount, the former CEO of Equate and MEGlobal said on Tuesday.

US IPA domestic supply lengthens following LyondellBasell announcement; imports decline
Although isopropanol (IPA) imports for the most recently available month declined, domestic supply improved following news of more favourable sales allocation numbers for buyers.

Canada chems eye 5% growth, but Michigan pipeline shutdown would hit hard
Canada could see a year on year increase in the value of its chemical shipments of close to 5% in 2021, with a range of 3-7%, the CEO of Chemistry Industry Association of Canada (CIAC) told ICIS in an interview.

US crackers will be fuelled by hydrogen to reduce carbon footprint
US crackers will eventually be fuelled by hydrogen rather than natural gas as the main energy source to significantly bring down their carbon footprint, the former CEO of Equate and MEGlobal said.

Pinnacle Polymers declares force majeure on PP copolymers from US Louisiana plant
Pinnacle Polymers has declared force majeure on the supply of impact and random copolymers effective immediately, according to a customer letter dated 14 April.

Canada’s Trudeau urged to take lead in Michigan pipeline dispute
Canada’s opposition Conservatives want Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to take the lead in resolving the ongoing dispute over the planned shutdown by Michigan of Enbridge’s “Line 5” oil pipeline.

Tight US BD supplies expected into May, challenging downstream consumers through Q2
US butadiene (BD) supplies remain tight in April as producers slowly recover from polar storm-related outages, challenging downstream consumers that also need to rebuild inventories.