Americas top stories: weekly summary
ICIS Editorial
31-Jul-2017
HOUSTON (ICIS)–Here are the top stories from ICIS News from the week ended 28 July 2017:
Colombia refinery overhaul hinges
on unconventional reserves
Reviving a shelved expansion project at Colombia’s largest
oil refinery depends on the nation’s readiness to tap into
its unconventional hydrocarbon reserves, a spokesperson at
the state-controlled energy producer Ecopetrol confirmed on
Monday.
US DuPont sees continued headwind
from BD, benzene pricing
Operating margins in DuPont’s performance materials business
will likely continue to contract in the remainder of the
year, mainly due to increased prices for key raw materials
such as butadiene (BD) and benzene,
DuPont’s chief financial officer Nicholas Fanandakis told
analysts during the company’s second-quarter earnings call on Tuesday.
LyondellBasell US PO/TBA decision
driven by tech, feedstock
advantage
LyondellBasell decided to greenlight its $2.4bn propylene oxide/tertiary butyl alcohol (PO/TBA)
project in Channelview, Texas as it sought to leverage
proprietary technology and regional feedstock advantage.
US July PP contracts settle up 0.5
cent/lb on feedstock propylene
US July polypropylene (PP) contracts
settled up 0.5 cent/lb this week, tracking
feedstock propylene, sources said on
Wednesday.
US July PE contracts settle flat
for second consecutive month
US July polyethylene (PE) contracts
were flat for the second consecutive month, sources said on
Thursday.
Formosa declares force majeure on
US suspension PVC resins
Formosa
Plastics USA has issued a force majeure for some
suspension polyvinyl chloride (PVC)
resins for August, market sources confirmed on Thursday.
LyondellBasell weighs new US PP,
propylene, other projects
LyondellBasell is considering a new polypropylene (PP) project in the US, as well as
one involving feedstock propylene, its
CEO Bob Patel said on Friday.
US August BD contracts settle 5-8
cents/lb lower
US butadiene (BD) contract prices for August settled on
Friday at decreases of 5-8 cents/lb, marking the fourth
consecutive month of declines as weak global markets and long
domestic supply continues to weigh on values.
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