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BASF to merge its paper and water chemicals business with Solenis

Solenis (Wilmington, Del.; www.solenis.com) and BASF SE (Ludwigshafen, Germany; www.basf.com) signed an agreement to combine BASF’s paper and water chemicals business with Solenis to jointly create a customer-focused global specialty chemical company. The combined company intends to operate under the Solenis…

Fluor’s Stork division awarded construction contract for additives process unit

Fluor Corp. (Irving, Tex.; www.fluor.com) announced that Stork, part of Fluor’s Diversified Services segment, was awarded a construction contract by BYK USA Inc. for its new Garamite additives process unit at its manufacturing plant in Gonzales, Texas. Fluor booked the…

Marathon Petroleum to purchase Andeavor, creating largest U.S. refiner

Marathon Petroleum Corp. (MPC; Findley, Ohio; www.marathonpetroleum.com) and Andeavor (San Antonio, Tex.; www.andeavor.com) announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which MPC will acquire all of Andeavor’s outstanding shares, representing a total equity value of $23.3…

Celanese adds new production line in Nanjing for ultra-high molecular weight PE

Celanese Corp. (Dallas, Tex.; www.celanese.com) announced the addition of a new GUR ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMW-PE) production line at its Nanjing, China manufacturing facility to support the significant growth in its engineered materials business, specifically the electric vehicle market.…

CNOOC and Shell JV starts production at new petrochemical units in China

China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC; Beijing, China) and Shell Nanhai B.V. (Shell; www.shell.com) today announce the official start-up of the second ethylene cracker at their Nanhai petrochemicals complex in Huizhou, Guangdong Province, China. Several linked derivative units have also…

Clariant wins contract to supply Catofin catalysts for world’s largest PDH unit

Clariant (Munich, Germany; www.clariant.com) was awarded a contract by Jinneng Science & Technology Company, to design the world’s largest single-train propane dehydrogenation (PDH) unit in collaboration with CB&I. The plant will be located in Qingdao, Shandong Province, China (photo) and…

ExxonMobil to acquire lubricant manufacturer in Indonesia

Exxon Mobil Corp. (Irving, Tex.; www.exxonmobil.com) agreed to purchase PT Federal Karyatama (FKT), one of Indonesia’s largest manufacturers and marketers of motorcycle lubricants, to enable expansion in an important international market. The acquisition includes the Federal Oil brand and a…

Global chemical production ends Q1 on a soft note, ACC says

Data collected and tabulated by the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com) show that the global chemical industry ended the first quarter on a soft note. The ACC’s Global Chemical Production Regional Index (Global CPRI) shows that global chemicals…

Recently Published Books for the CPI: May 2018

The following recently published titles may be relevant for chemical process industries (CPI) professionals: Biomass as Renewable Raw Material to Obtain Bioproducts of High-Tech Value. Edited by Valentin Popa and Irina Volf, Elsevier Press, 2018, e-book, $31.50 per chapter. Dealing…

Alpek completes acquisition of Petroquímica Suape and Citepe from Petrobras

Alpek S.A.B. de C.V. (San Pedro Garza Garcia, Mexico; www.alpek.com) announced that it completed the acquisition of Companhia Petroquímica de Pernambuco (Petroquímica Suape) and Companhia Integrada Têxtil de Pernambuco (Citepe) from Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras) through two of its wholly-owned…