Americas top stories: weekly summary

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Here are the top stories from ICIS News from the week ended 23 June 2017:

CP Chem’s new US PE units in Texas mechanically complete
Chevron Phillips Chemical’s (CP Chem) two polyethylene (PE) units in Old Ocean, Texas, have achieved mechanical completion, the company said on Monday.

Tropical Storm Cindy forms in Gulf of Mexico – NOAA
Meteorologists named on Tuesday the third tropical storm during this year’s Atlantic hurricane season, a cyclone that is threatening oil production in the Gulf Coast and heading towards the nation’s petrochemical and refinery hub.

Shell suspends some well operations in Gulf of Mexico due to storm
In preparation for Tropical Storm Cindy, Shell has suspended all offshore flights from heliports located in central Louisiana, including some well operations, the Anglo-Dutch energy major said on Tuesday.

DuPont joins new US cracker expansion wave
US-based DuPont became the latest company to announce a project that will take advantage of growing US supplies of natural-gas liquids (NGLs), with its plans to expand a cracker by 200m lb/year (91,000 tonnes/year).

Braskem’s new US PP plant comes amid margin recovery
Braskem’s decision to proceed with a new polypropylene (PP) plant in the US comes as margins for the polymer have risen sharply from the single digits earlier this decade.

Initial US July BD contract nominated at 14 cent/lb drop
US butadiene (BD) contract prices for July have been nominated by a producer at a 14 cent/lb decline, market sources said on Friday, amid ample domestic supply and weak global prices.

Second July BD contract nominated at 15 cent/lb drop
US butadiene (BD) contract prices for July have been nominated by a second producer at a 15 cent/lb decline from June contract prices, market sources said on Friday, amid ample domestic supply and weak global prices.