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Chemical Activity Barometer (CAB) is flat in June, ACC says

The Chemical Activity Barometer (CAB), a leading economic indicator created by the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com), was flat (0.0 percent change) in June on a three-month moving average (3MMA) basis, following three monthly gains. On a year-over-year…

U.S. specialty chemical markets remained soft in May, ACC says

The American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com) reported that reflecting mixed manufacturing activity, U.S. specialty chemicals market volumes were flat in May after falling 0.3 percent in April and 0.4 percent in March. All changes in the data are…

Chevron Phillips Chemical and Qatar Petroleum sign agreement to develop petrochemical complex

  Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LLC (The Woodlands, Tex.; www.cpchem.com) and Qatar Petroleum (QP; Doha, Qatar; www.qp.com.qa)  announced the signing of an agreement to pursue the development, construction and operation of a petrochemicals complex in Qatar to produce ethylene and…

U.S. chemical production continues gain in May, ACC says

According to the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com), the U.S. Chemical Production Regional Index (U.S. CPRI) rose by 0.4 percent in May, following a 0.2 percent gain in April and a 0.3 percent decline in March. During May,…

Ascend completes investment in NTA chelate production

Ascend Performance Materials (Houston, Tex.; www.ascendmaterials.com), a global provider of premium chemicals, fibers and plastics, announced the completion of a multimillion-dollar reliability and capacity investment in nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA) production at its Chocolate Bayou facility in Alvin, Texas. The investment…

Ineos selects lead engineering contractor for propane dehydrogenation unit

  INEOS (London, U.K.; www.ineos.com) has today announced the next step forwards in the design and build of its state-of-the-art PDH (propane dehydrogenation unit) at the centre of its €3 billion investment to be located at its Antwerp site in…

Grace licenses Unipol PP process technology to Hyundai Chemical

  W. R. Grace & Co. (Columbia, Md.; www.grace.com), the leading independent supplier of polyolefin catalyst technology and polypropylene (PP) process technology, has licensed its UNIPOL PP Process Technology to Hyundai Chemical Co., Ltd., a joint venture between Hyundai Oilbank Co.,…

2019 CEPCI Updates: April (prelim.) and March (final)

The preliminary value for the CE Plant Cost Index (CEPCI; the most recent available) for April 2019 increased from the previous month’s value, reversing two months of small declines. The increase in April for the overall CEPCI is a result…

Zachry Group and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries awarded PE unit construction contract

Zachry Group (San Antonio, Tex.; www.zachrygroup.com) and its partner Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America, Inc. (Houston, Tex.; www.mitsubishitoday.com) have been selected to construct a two-train polyethylene unit that will be part of a new chemical complex near Corpus Christi, Texas. The…

Greentown Labs and BASF jointly launch circular economy innovation challenge

Greentown Labs (Somerville, Mass.; www.greentownlabs.com), the largest cleantech startup incubator in North America, and BASF Corp. North America (Florham Park, N.J.; www.basf.com) one of the world's leading chemical companies, are now accepting applications for the Greentown Labs Circularity Challenge, a…