Latest News: Business
Shell-CNOOC JV to expand ethylene and derivative units at Nanhai complex
Shell Chemical LP (Houston; www.shell.com/chemical) announced that Shell Nanhai B.V. and China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) have signed a Heads of Agreement (HOA) to expand their existing 50-50 joint venture (JV) in Huizhou, Guangdong Province, China. Under the HOA,…
U.S. chemical industry renaissance just beginning, ACC outlook report says
The business of American chemistry expanded 3.6 percent in 2015 despite global headwinds that included a strong appreciation of the U.S. dollar and a weakness in several key global markets, according to the Year-End 2015 Chemical Industry Situation and Outlook,…
Victrex announces investment plans, including new PEEK composite facility
Victrex plc (Thornton Cleveleys, U.K.; www.victrex.com) will invest up to 15 million GBP in further downstream manufacturing. to build a new polyetheretherketone (PEEK) composite facility for unidirectional (UD) tape and add new manufacturing capability for medical Trauma plate applications at its…
Ineos to acquire sulfuric acid producer in Spain
Ineos (Rolle Switzerland; www.ineos.com) announced its intention to acquire 100% of the shares of Befesa Valorización de Azufre, S.L.U (BVA). BVA is a regional market leader for sulfuric acid and oleum located in Bilbao, Spain. BVA owns a plant that…
Dow to take full ownership of Dow Corning JV
The Dow Chemical Company (Midland, Mich.; www.dow.com) announced the signing of definitive agreements to restructure the ownership of Dow Corning Corp. Unanimously approved by Dow’s board of directors, the transaction is highly complementary to the strategic objectives of Dow and…
Mitsui and Avantium to collaborate on commercialization of bio-based FDCA and PEF in Asia
Avantium Technologies B.V. (Amsterdam, the Netherlands; www.avantium.com) signed an agreement with Mitsui & Co. (Tokyo; www.mitsui.com), to commercialize 100% bio-based 2,5-furandicarboxyllic acid (FDCA) and polyethylene furanoate (PEF) in Asia. As part of this agreement, Mitsui has been granted a right…
Dow and DuPont to combine in massive merger, creating DowDuPont
DuPont (Wilmington, Del.; www.dupont.com) and The Dow Chemical Company (Midland, Mich.; www.dow.com) announced that their boards of directors unanimously approved a definitive agreement under which the companies will combine in an all-stock merger of equals. The combined company will be…
CB&I announces startup of solid-acid-catalyst alkylation unit
CB&I (The Woodlands, Tex.; www.cbi.com) has announced that the world’s first commercial-scale, solid acid catalyst alkylation unit was started up in August at Zibo Haiyi Fine Chemical Co., a subsidiary of Shandong Wonfull Petrochemical Group Co. Ltd. (Wonfull). The unit…
DSM Engineering Plastics opens office near San Francisco
Royal DSM (Heerlen, the Netherlands; www.dsm.com) announced that its business group DSM Engineering Plastics has opened an office in the San Francisco Bay area to support the consumer electronics business and the rapid growth of this segment. Richard Pieters, President…
Dow to increase capacity for glycidyl methacrylate at Freeport site
The Dow Chemical Co. (Midland, Mich.; www.dow.com) plans to complete a debottlenecking project at its Freeport, Texas facility to increase capacity for glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) in the second quarter of 2016. The wide use of GMA, a versatile monomer for…