Americas top stories: weekly summary

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Here are the top stories from ICIS News from the week ended 13 October.

About 85% Gulf of Mexico oil production still shut in after Nate
Approximately 85% of oil production in the Gulf of Mexico remains shut-in following Hurricane Nate, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) said on Monday.

US Q4 BDO contracts settle up 9 cents/lb
US butanediol (BDO) quarterly contracts settled up by 9 cents/lb ($198/tonne) this week on supply issues and rising prices in Asia, sources said on Tuesday.

US Celanese completes debottlenecking at engineered materials plants
Celanese has completed debottlenecking projects and product transfers at its engineered materials plants in the US, Mexico, China and Germany, the US-based producer said on Wednesday.

US October SBR contracts, spot prices up on surge in BD
US October contract prices for both grades of styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) were assessed higher on Wednesday, tracking increased feedstock costs.

BASF aims to become agro global major with €5.9bn Bayer seeds acquisition
Formerly a bystander in the large-scale mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity that has swept through the agrochemicals industry, BASF’s announcement on Friday of plans to invest €5.9bn to acquire a large part of Bayer’s seed business and some herbicides operations reestablishes the German chemical firm as a major player in the agrochemicals space, according to analysts.

US October PS prices settle at full increase
US polystyrene (PS) contract prices have settled at an average increase of 3 cents/lb ($66/tonne) for October, effective 1 October, market sources said on Friday.