The total market volume of specialty chemicals in the U.S. rose by 0.1% in March, according to the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com). In its latest Weekly Chemistry and Economic Report, ACC commented that the March gain represents…
Northern Plains Nitrogen (NPN; Grand Forks, N.D.; www.northernplainsnitrogen.com) leaders announced their plans today to build and operate a $1.5-billion nitrogen-fertilizer production facility near Grand Forks, N.D. The world-scale production facility will include a 2,200-ton/d ammonia plant plus urea and urea-ammonium-nitrate (UAN)…
Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (Pasadena, Calif.; www.jacobs.com) has received a contract from Minera Chinalco Peru S.A. to perform a feasibility study for the expansion of its Toromocho copper mining facilities in the Morococha District of Peru. Officials did not disclose…
Foster Wheeler AG (Zug, Switzerland; www.fwc.com) says that a subsidiary of its Global Engineering and Construction Group has been awarded a contract by OJSC Gazpromneft Moscow Refinery to provide front-end engineering design (FEED) and design documentation in accordance with Russian…
Solvay S.A. (Brussels, Belgium; www.solvay) and Ineos AG Rolle, Switzerland; www.ineos.com) have signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) to combine their European chlorvinyls activities in a proposed 50-50 joint venture (JV). The combination would form a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) producer…
The Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation (New York; www.dreyfus.org) has announced that R. Graham Cooks, the Henry Bohn Hass Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at Purdue University, is the recipient of the 2013 Dreyfus Prize in the Chemical Sciences, conferred this year in chemical…
The Global Chemical Production Regional Index (Global CPRI) rose 0.1% in March, a subdued pace compared to January and February, according to the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com). The information on the Global CPRI was part of ACC’s…
Fluor Corp. (Irving, Tex.; www.fluor.com) announced today that it was awarded a contract by The Dow Chemical Company (Midland, Mich.; www.dow.com) to execute a significant portion of its U.S. Gulf Coast investments. Fluor’s scope includes the engineering, procurement and construction…
Preliminary data for the February 2013 CE Plant Cost Index (CEPCI), which is the most recent available, indicate that capital equipment prices declined from January to February, by 0.2%. The current February 2013 preliminary Plant Cost Index stands at 4.4%…
A variety of technologies, methods and best practices are available to obtain the lowest total cost of ownership for compressors used in plants throughout the chemical process industries (CPI). This article discusses several critical areas in which concerted effort can…