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North America (9966) South America (645) Western Europe (5549) Eastern Europe (967) Middle East (1182) Africa (272) Southeast Asia (998) North Asia (1670) China (1916) India/Pakistan (1088) Australia/New Zealand (249)
NORTH AMERICA Cinven wins bid to acquire CeramTec from Rockwood for $2 billion
Private equity firm Cinven (London) has won the bid to acquire CeramTec (Plochingen, Germany) from Rockwood Holdings (Princeton, NJ) for €1.49 billion ($1.98 billion), subject to adjustments, Rockwood announced today. Cinven beat out competition... European Union gives green light to free trade agreement negotiation with United States
The member states of the European Union have given the green light to a comprehensive free trade agreement with the United States, German chemical industries association VCI (Frankfurt) says in a statement. The first major hurdle was taken with the... Accident at CF Industries' nitrogen plant kills one, injures others
CF Industries reports that on 14 June an incident occurred at its 4.5-million ton/year nitrogen complex at Donaldsonville, LA—North America’s largest nitrogen operation—resulting in 1 fatality and 7 injuries. The rupture of a nitrogen... MIT researchers devise cost-efficient process to produce biosourced GVL
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT; Cambridge, MA) chemical engineers have devised a cheaper way to synthesize gamma-valerolactone (GVL)—a potential feedstock of interest for production of both fuels and fine chemicals—from biomass, the... Karnalyte secures $300-million credit facility to fund potash project
Karnalyte (Okotoks, AB) has engaged BNP Paribas and Natixis (New York) to act as lead arrangers to underwrite a project finance credit facility of up to $300 million to help fund a planned potash project, the company has announced. Financing will help... More Stories » SOUTH AMERICA Monsanto receives regulatory approval from China for soybeans in Brazil
Monsanto announced it has received regulatory approval from China’s Ministry of Agriculture to launch its Intacta RR2 Pro soybeans in Brazil for the upcoming crop season. Along with Monstanto, multiple South American seed companies are anticipated to... Petrobras to restructure petchems portfolio
Petrobras’s board has approved the restructuring of its petrochemical portfolio, including the merger of wholly owned subsidiaries Comperj Participações, Comperj Estirênicos, Comperj MEG, and Comperj Poliolefinas, the company... Uruguay's ALUR inaugurates second biodiesel facility
Alcoholes del Uruguay (ALUR; Montevideo) inaugurated on 12 June its second biodiesel production facility, the company has announced. The plant, at Capurro, Uruguay, has annual capacity for 65 million liters of biodiesel. Glycerine will also be manufactured as... Reports: Elekeiroz and Videolar competing to acquire Petrobras's styrene assets
Two companies remain in the race for the acquisition of Innova (São Paulo), the styrene unit of state-owned Petrobras, based at Triunfo, Brazil, according to Valor Econômico, a leading financial newspaper in Brazil. The sale of Innova was... Ecolab to expand Brazil R&D center
Ecolab announced that it is expanding its research, development, and engineering (RD&E) center at Campinas, São Paulo—doubling its size to 1,300 sq meters. The center includes labs for development oil and gas applications; industrial... More Stories » WESTERN EUROPE Cinven wins bid to acquire CeramTec from Rockwood for $2 billion
Private equity firm Cinven (London) has won the bid to acquire CeramTec (Plochingen, Germany) from Rockwood Holdings (Princeton, NJ) for €1.49 billion ($1.98 billion), subject to adjustments, Rockwood announced today. Cinven beat out competition... European Union gives green light to free trade agreement negotiation with United States
The member states of the European Union have given the green light to a comprehensive free trade agreement with the United States, German chemical industries association VCI (Frankfurt) says in a statement. The first major hurdle was taken with the... Tight European benzene supply
European benzene supply is expected to remain tight as use of lighter feedstocks limits production of benzene coproduct, according to the latest IHS Chemical Market Advisory Service: European Aromatics report. Demand remains steady but is not expected to... Kem One receives 7 letters of interest from potential buyers
Kem One (Lyon, France), the former vinyls business of Arkema, says that seven potential buyers have expressed an interest in acquiring the firm's assets currently in receivership. The company was put into receivership by the commercial court of Lyon... Apparel and footwear industry group agrees to 2015 phaseout of PFOA chemistry
Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC), a group of leading apparel and footwear brands and retailers, has agreed to timelines for a phaseout of perfluorooctanoic acid, or C8, chemistry by January 2015, the group announced today.... More Stories » EASTERN EUROPE Tight European benzene supply
European benzene supply is expected to remain tight as use of lighter feedstocks limits production of benzene coproduct, according to the latest IHS Chemical Market Advisory Service: European Aromatics report. Demand remains steady but is not expected to... Unipetrol sharpens focus on petrochemicals in 2013–17 strategy
Unipetrol (Prague), a subsidiary of central Europe’s largest refiner and petrochemicals producer PKN Orlen (Plock, Poland), says it intends to strengthen its petrochemicals market position through restructuring and efficiency improvements under its... Apparel and footwear industry group agrees to 2015 phaseout of PFOA chemistry
Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC), a group of leading apparel and footwear brands and retailers, has agreed to timelines for a phaseout of perfluorooctanoic acid, or C8, chemistry by January 2015, the group announced today.... Linde and Sibur sign gas supply deal; Linde to invest in 2 air separation plants
Linde and Sibur (Moscow), the largest petrochemical company in Russia, have signed a long-term contract under which Linde will manage the gas supply infrastructure of Sibur, the companies announced today. Linde, as part of the deal, will invest €70... Victrex appoints Rusplast as distributor in CIS
Victrex Polymer Solutions, a division of the Victrex group (Thornton Cleveleys, UK), has appointed Rusplast (Moscow) as the distributor of Victrex’s high-performance polymers, including poly(ether ether ketone), in Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Kazakhstan... More Stories » MIDDLE EAST Saudi firms agree butanol tolling and processing; Sadara raises loan
Sadara Chemical, a joint venture between Saudi Aramco and Dow Chemical; Saudi Kayan, an affiliate of Sabic; and Saudi Acrylic Acid Co. (SAAC), equal owners in Saudi Butanol Co., a special purpose joint venture building a butanol plant, have signed a... Qatar plans propylene and benzene derivatives projects as part of major petchems push
Qatar Petroleum (QP; Doha) has invited companies to carry out feasibility studies for propylene- and benzene-derivative complexes to be built at Ras Laffan, Qatar, near existing liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) producers, to take advantage of the... Qatar selects Univation and Dow technologies for Al Sejeel project
Qatar Petroleum (QP; Doha) and Qatar Petrochemical Co. (Qapco), joint venture partners in a major petrochemical project planned at Ras Laffan, Qatar, have selected technologies for the downstream units, the companies announced today. The project, dubbed Al... Borealis, Borouge, and Nova outline plans at pre-K event
The key theme for Borealis, Borouge, and Nova Chemicals at the K 2013 plastics and rubber trade fair at Düsseldorf later this year will be Open your mind, Borealis said at a pre–K 2013 press conference held at Linz, Austria, last week. The press... Sipchem signs loan agreement for EVA-LDPE project
Saudi International Petrochemical Co.’s (Sipchem; Al Khubar) affiliate International Polymers Co. (IPC) has signed a financing agreement for 704 million Saudi riyals ($188 million) with the Public Investment Fund to partly fund a previously announced... More Stories » AFRICA KBR awarded construction contract by Sasol for oxygen compressor at Secunda
KBR announced today that it has been awarded a contract by Sasol for engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) management services for a gaseous oxygen compressor at the oxygen east plant at Sasol’s synfuels complex at Secunda, South Africa... Brenntag opens office in Ghana
Brenntag says it will establish a legal entity including warehouse facilities at Accra, Ghana. The office will be the centre for Brenntag in West Africa and will strengthen Brenntag’s market position with regard to the distribution of specialty products... Sonatrach and OCI reach commercial agreement on Sorfert Algérie
Sonatrach (Algiers) and OCI (Cairo), joint owners of Sorfert Algérie, a major fertilizer complex recently completed at Arzew, Algeria, say they have reached an agreement on the commercial and economic terms related to Sorfert. Commissioning of... Workers end strike at Lanxess's chrome mine in South Africa
Striking workers at a chrome ore mine in Rustenburg, South Africa, owned by Lanxess, have agreed to end a strike and to return to work on Monday, following a deal with the company, Lanxess said on Friday. "All parties agreed on a one-off... Global PS demand expected to be lower in 2013 because of high feedstock costs, product substitution
Polystyrene (PS) demand is expected to be lower worldwide this year compared with last year, according to the latest IHS Chemical Market Advisory Service: Global Plastics & Polymers report. PS is under pressure because high feedstock and conversion... More Stories » SOUTHEAST ASIA Chandra Asri and Michelin form JV to produce synthetic rubber
Chandra Asri Petrochemical (Jakarta) and tire maker Michelin (Clermont-Ferrand, France) have signed an agreement to create a joint venture in Indonesia to produce synthetic rubber, Michelin announced today. Michelin will own 55% of the jv with Chandra... Apparel and footwear industry group agrees to 2015 phaseout of PFOA chemistry
Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC), a group of leading apparel and footwear brands and retailers, has agreed to timelines for a phaseout of perfluorooctanoic acid, or C8, chemistry by January 2015, the group announced today.... Evonik opens technical service center in Singapore
Evonik Industries has opened a technical center in Singapore for its comfort and insulation business line, the company says. The center is the business unit's fifth laboratory globally and the second in Asia/Pacific. "Opening this technical service... Symrise starts up powder mixing plant
Symrise (Holzminden, Germany) says it has started operations at a new powder mixing plant at Holzminden for producing flavored powders for sweet and savory food. The complex also includes a modern raw materials warehouse. The new facility cost €5 million... Petronas issues ITBs for cumene-phenol complex at Pengerang
Petronas (Kuala Lumpur) has invited bids for what it termed package 8 of the planned Refinery and Petrochemicals Integrated Development (Rapid) project at Pengerang, Johor, Malaysia. The invitation to bid is for engineering, procurement, construction and... More Stories » NORTH ASIA Apparel and footwear industry group agrees to 2015 phaseout of PFOA chemistry
Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC), a group of leading apparel and footwear brands and retailers, has agreed to timelines for a phaseout of perfluorooctanoic acid, or C8, chemistry by January 2015, the group announced today.... Canadian firm to build gallium chemicals facility in South Korea
Specialty metals and chemicals producer 5N Plus (Montreal) will invest an undisclosed amount to build a gallium chemical facility in South Korea, the company has announced. The investment will "demonstrate our commitment to serve our customers wherever... Connell Brothers and Struktol sign distribution agreement for Japanese market
Connell Brothers (San Francisco), a division of Wilbur-Ellis (San Francisco) and a leading marketer and distributor of specialty chemicals and industrial ingredients in Asia/Pacific, has signed an exclusive distribution agreement with Struktol Company of... International Energy Agency urges action on emissions
The International Energy Agency (IEA; Paris) urges governments in a report, published today, to swiftly enact four energy policies that it says will keep climate goals alive without harming economic growth. IEA warns that the world is not on track to... US, China agree to cooperate on HFC phasedown
The Chinese and US governments have agreed to cooperate in the phasedown of hydrofluorocarbons (HFC), under the 1987 Montreal Protocol, in an effort to combat climate change, the White House says in a statement. President Barack Obama and China's president... More Stories » CHINA Air Products completes expansion of packaged gases capacity at 3 sites in China
Air Products has expanded three packaged gases plants in China to serve the country's high-growth metal fabrication industries, the company announced today. The $10-million expansion was completed at plants located in Kunshan, Guangzhou, and Tianjin... Apparel and footwear industry group agrees to 2015 phaseout of PFOA chemistry
Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC), a group of leading apparel and footwear brands and retailers, has agreed to timelines for a phaseout of perfluorooctanoic acid, or C8, chemistry by January 2015, the group announced today.... Clariant, Foster Wheeler, Wison Engineering sign agreement for pilot plant in China
Clariant, Wison Engineering (Shanghai), and a subsidiary of Foster Wheeler's global engineering and construction group have signed a long-term agreement to equip a pilot plant to demonstrate Foster Wheeler's Vesta substitute natural gas (SNG) technology. The... International Energy Agency urges action on emissions
The International Energy Agency (IEA; Paris) urges governments in a report, published today, to swiftly enact four energy policies that it says will keep climate goals alive without harming economic growth. IEA warns that the world is not on track to... US, China agree to cooperate on HFC phasedown
The Chinese and US governments have agreed to cooperate in the phasedown of hydrofluorocarbons (HFC), under the 1987 Montreal Protocol, in an effort to combat climate change, the White House says in a statement. President Barack Obama and China's president... More Stories » INDIA/PAKISTAN Jubilant and Syngenta Sign Pyridines Supply Deal
Jubilant Organosys has signed a multimillion-dollar, long-term agreement to supply pyridines to Syngenta.... Apparel and footwear industry group agrees to 2015 phaseout of PFOA chemistry
Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC), a group of leading apparel and footwear brands and retailers, has agreed to timelines for a phaseout of perfluorooctanoic acid, or C8, chemistry by January 2015, the group announced today.... Oil India to take 49% stake in Assam Petrochemicals' Namrup project
Oil India (Noida) will acquire a 49% stake in Assam Petrochemicals' expansion project planned at Namrup, in the Indian state of Assam. The government of Assam holds a majority stake in Assam Petrochemicals through Assam Industrial Development Corp. The... Avantor plant in India producing cGMP pharma chemicals
Avantor Performance Materials’ manufacturing plant at Panoli, India, is now producing pharmaceutical chemicals using contract cGMP standards, the company says. The plant makes salts and solvents for pharma production and research, Avantor says... Six companies in race to buy government's stake in Haldia Petrochemicals
Six companies have expressed interest in buying the West Bengal government’s stake in troubled Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd. (HPL; Kolkata), the only major producer of petrochemicals on India’s east coast. The expressions of interest were submitted... More Stories » AUSTRALIA/NEW ZEALAND Apparel and footwear industry group agrees to 2015 phaseout of PFOA chemistry
Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC), a group of leading apparel and footwear brands and retailers, has agreed to timelines for a phaseout of perfluorooctanoic acid, or C8, chemistry by January 2015, the group announced today.... Sojitz signs MOU to study gas chemical project in Papua New Guinea
Sojitz (Tokyo) and the government of Papua New Guinea have signed a memorandum of understanding to carry out a feasibility study into a gas chemical manufacturing project using natural gas produced in Papua New Guinea, Sojitz announced today. The company says... Australia's Cardia Bioplastics and Univ. of Sydney researchers develop renewable PPC polymers
Cardia Bioplastics (Mulgrave, Australia) and biomolecular engineers at the University of Sydney are developing more cost-effective polypropylene carbonate (PPC) polymers, Cardia has announced. A team led by Fariba Dehghani, associate professor in the... Canada's Lignol Energy becomes majority owner of Australia's largest biorefinery; production to restart by year-end
Lignol Energy Corp. (LEC; Vancouver) has become majority shareholder in Territory Biofuels (TBF; Darwin, Australia) after it acquired an additional 2.67 million shares in the company for 1 million Australian dollars ($964,000) via a private placement... Schulman to cut jobs in Europe, sell Australia business
A. Schulman today announced a restructuring in its Europe, Mideast, and Africa business, under which the company will reduce headcount in that region because of economic difficulties in Europe. The reductions are expected to cut costs by about $4... More Stories »
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