A massive fire that injured four workers and caused the total shutdown and evacuation of the Valero McKee Refinery in Sunray, Tex., in February 2007 likely occurred after water leaked through a valve, froze, and cracked an out-of-service section of…
Ashland Inc. (Covington, Ky.) and Hercules Inc. (Wilmington, Del.) today announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Ashland would acquire all of the outstanding shares of Hercules for $18.60 per share in cash and 0.093…
PetroChina Sichuan Petrochemical Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of the PetroChina Co., Ltd. (Beijing; www.petrochina.com), has selected UOP LLC (Des Plaines, Ill.; www.uop.com) to supply technology, basic engineering services and equipment for a new integrated refining and petrochemicals complex, according to…
The Dow Chemical Co. (Midland, Mich.) and Rohm and Haas (Philadelphia, Pa.) today announced a definitive agreement, under which Dow will acquire all outstanding shares of Rohm and Haas common stock for $18.8 billion ($78 per share) in cash. The…
Airgas, Inc. (Radnor, Pa.; www.airgas.com) today announced that it will build a new 450-ton/d liquid-carbon-dioxide plant at the First United Ethanol LLC, (FUEL) complex in Camilla, Ga. Airgas entered into a 15-year agreement with FUEL, which will supply the feedstock…
The Dutch company Yara Sluiskil B.V., part of the Norwegian chemicals group Yara International ASA, has commissioned Uhde GmbH (Dortmund, Germany; www.uhde.biz) to design and build a major urea plant at its production site in Sluiskil (Zeeland Province), near the…
Bob Wood, Chairman of the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Arlington, VA; www.americanchemistry.org) Board of Directors and Chairman and CEO of Chemtura, today announced that Cal Dooley, currently the President and CEO of the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA), has been selected…
Evonik Industries AG’s (Essen, Germany; www.evonik.com) Inorganic Materials Business Unit and the Russian Synttech Group are considering working together to manufacture Thermal Blacks. On June 30, 2008 representatives from both companies signed a letter of intent in Frankfurt, Germany. In…
Emerson (St. Louis, Mo.;www.emerson.com) today announced it has acquired TopWorx (Louisville, Ky.; www.topworx.com). Terms of the deal were not disclosed. TopWorx becomes part of Emerson Process Management (www.emersonprocess.com), expanding Emerson’s valve instrument offering and extending the reach of Emerson’s PlantWeb…
On 4 July, the privately managed industrial gas specialist Messer (Sultzbach, Germany; www.messergroup.com) signed a contract of purchase to take over the majority share of 51% of Asco Carbon Dioxide Ltd. in New Zealand, a constructor of production plants for…