Chemical Business Newsbase articles from March 2001

Chemical Business Newsbase archives from March 2001

EUROPEAN RUBBER JOURNAL: Continental to sell non-core rubber businesses. [1 table].
March 30, 2001... German tyre and chassis-systems supplier Continental AG intends to divest most of its traditional rubber goods business (operated under the ContiTech umbrella). The businesses to be divested have a combined turnover of EUR 1400 M and...

EUROPEAN RUBBER JOURNAL: Italian group adds silicone products firm.
March 30, 2001... Reda SpA of Milan, Italy has acquired Tamburini Gi Effe srl (alos of Milan). Tamburini had sales of EUR 3.15 M in 2000. Its primary products include gaskets and sheeting in compact and sponge silicone rubber. Reda operates five...

EUROPEAN RUBBER JOURNAL: FRP uses $1 M to modernise.
March 30, 2001... Belgian rubber moulder FRP has allocated BFR 50 M to upgrade its equipment, increase capacity and establish a new testing and development laboratory. Traditional products of the company are seals for large video screens and lamp seals...

EUROPEAN RUBBER JOURNAL: PacDun to split into two listed companies.
March 30, 2001... Australian rubber firm, Pacific Dunlop Ltd intends to divide its activities into two independent, publicly-listed companies. One of the new companies will include its Ansell healthcare business while the other covers its Pacific Brands...

EUROPEAN RUBBER JOURNAL: Silvertown to grow after MBO from Unipoly.
March 30, 2001... Silvertown UK Ltd's management has acquired the firm for GBP7 M from the UniPoly Group. Silvertown achieves $10 M in turnover and has 230 employees on a 20-acre site in Burton-on Trent in the UK Midlands. Silvertown produces...

EUROPEAN RUBBER JOURNAL: Maine Tire gains foothold after year in Europe.
March 30, 2001... Maine Industries Tires Ltd is aiming to achieve between $15 M/y and $20 M/y in sales in Europe in the next three to five years after it has successfully concluded its first year in operations. The company, based in Gorham, ME, started...

EUROPEAN RUBBER JOURNAL: Michelin confirms Chinese tyre JV.
March 30, 2001... Groupe Michelin has announced a 70:30 tyre production joint venture in with Shanghai Tyre and Rubber Co Ltd (STRC), to be based in Shanghai. China. The joint venture will start operations by the end of Mar 2001, operate certain STRC...

EUROPEAN RUBBER JOURNAL: MSF closes door in Manila.
March 30, 2001... Groupe Michelin affiliate MSF Tire & Rubber Inc has stopped production at its plant in Manila, Philippines and intends to liquidate most assets early in 2001. The closure is attributed to the highly competitive local market being...

EUROPEAN RUBBER JOURNAL: Michelin halts project in India.
March 30, 2001... Groupe Michelin has discontinued its project to establish a $115 M tyre production facility in India. The decision to stop the project is mainly due to the declining profits in the Indian industry as well as the uncertainty of radial...

EUROPEAN RUBBER JOURNAL: Goodyear cuts 'to save' UK tyre plant.
March 30, 2001... Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co intends to eliminate 240 jobs at its tyre production facility in Wolverhampton, UK in its efforts to save the facility. The company believes that by reducing the number of employees to about 1700, the...

EUROPEAN RUBBER JOURNAL: Michelin in extended UK pay talks.
March 30, 2001... Michelin is undertaking wage negotiations with the unions lobbying for production and engineering workers at its UK tyre manufacturing facilities in Burnley, Dundee, Ballymena and Stoke. The company's yearly pay agreement is traditionally...

EUROPEAN RUBBER JOURNAL: Michelin go ahead for vote on 35h week.
March 30, 2001... Groupe Michelin will require its French labour force to vote on its plans to implement a 35-hour week after a legal action failed to stop the ballot. A French court dismissed a plea of the CGT trade union to consider the referendum...

EUROPEAN RUBBER JOURNAL: Michelin's sales advance in 2000.
March 30, 2001... Groupe Michelin has been able to achieve an 11.9% increase in sales to $12,000 M due to solid unit growth and favourable currency exchange fluctuations. The company also reported between $1000 M to $1200 M in operating profits, as it...

EUROPEAN RUBBER JOURNAL: Conti signals closure of Belgian truck tyre unit.
March 30, 2001... Continental AG intends to stop the production of medium-truck tyres at its Uniroyal Englebert SA plant in Herstal, Belgium. The company is also planning to expand other production activities. Flat European demand for truck tyres, high...

EUROPEAN RUBBER JOURNAL: Conti drops General.
March 30, 2001... Continental AG has decided to eliminate "General" from the corporate name of its subsidiary in North America. Continental Tire North America will be the new name of the subsidiary. The name change took effect early in 2001. The...

EUROPEAN RUBBER JOURNAL: Goodyear aims for major cost cutting in 2001.
March 30, 2001... Goodyear aims to achieve its usual levels of profitability through a number of streamlining and efficiency measures. In 2001, the tyre manufacturer intends to reduce its workforce by 7200, a move that may led to an improvement in profits...

EUROPEAN RUBBER JOURNAL: Agency fines SITA over scrap tyre plant.
March 30, 2001... Sita Tyre Recycling Ltd has been required to pay fines for environmental violations at its tyres-to-energy facility in Wolverhampton, England. The 60-employee, scrap tyre facility closed in Jun 2000 due to technical problems. The...

EUROPEAN RUBBER JOURNAL: Vredestein profits down sharply.
March 30, 2001... Vredestein NV has reported year 2000 sales of EUR 295 M (+15% on 1999) and profits of EUR 0.3 M (EUR 10.4 M). The sharp decline in profits was attributed to the significant increases in raw material prices, as weak winter tyre sales, and...

EUROPEAN RUBBER JOURNAL: Nokian earnings drop, sales increase in 2000.
March 30, 2001... Finnish company Nokian Tyres has reported year 2000 sales of $369 M (+23.5% compared to 1999) and a 23% decline in net profits. The company expects year 2001 sales to increase by 10%. Profits have been adversely affected by increase...

EUROPEAN RUBBER JOURNAL: DuPont Dow Elastomers to build Dutch plant.
March 30, 2001... DuPont Dow Elastomers has begun building a new $50 M fluoroelastomer production facility beside its existing fluoroelastomer plant in Dordrecht. The unit, which is scheduled to be operational in early 2002, is expected to manufacture as...

EUROPEAN RUBBER JOURNAL: Cabot opens Dubai office.
March 30, 2001... Cabot Corp has established a sales office in Dubai, United Arab Emirates that will focus on the markets for fumed metal oxides, rubber blacks, and special blacks in the Middle East, Near East and southern and sub-Sahara Africa.

EUROPEAN RUBBER JOURNAL: Enichem to add polychloroprene reactor.
March 30, 2001... Enichem is adding a new 3 tonnes/y reactor at its facility in Champagnier, France to raise its chloroprene rubber (CR) capacity by the end of 2001. The company is putting in an investment amounting to EUR 6 M at its sole CR facility,...

EUROPEAN RUBBER JOURNAL: Sid Richardson pulls out of Cancarb purchase.
March 30, 2001... Canadian subsidiaries of Sid Richardson Carbon Co have withdrawn from the deal to acquire thermal carbon black producer Cancarb Ltd and a nearby 47 MW power plant due to adverse economic conditions. The purchase deal was discontinued by...

EUROPEAN RUBBER JOURNAL: Polish SR firm Dwory needs strategic investor.
March 30, 2001... Dwory SA, the only synthetic rubber producer in Poland, aims to find a strategic investor to help the company fulfill its long-term plan, including the upgrade to solution-polymerisation technology and production of polybutadiene. The...

EUROPEAN RUBBER JOURNAL: More heat-cured silicone elastomers from Rhodia.
March 30, 2001... Rhodia Silicones has started the operations of its FFR 30 M production facility for heat-curable silicones elastomers at its Saint Fons site in France. In Sep 2000, the company acquired the Italian HCE specialist Evsil. The expansion...

EUROPEAN RUBBER JOURNAL: Acordis rayon unit moves to new CVC company.
March 30, 2001... Acordis will move a number of its fibre business to NewCo, a newly created fibres firm within the CVC Capital Partners group, which holds 64% of Acordis shares. The move includes Acordis' industrial rayon yarn business, which consists of...

EUROPEAN RUBBER JOURNAL: INEOS to double EPDM monomer.
March 30, 2001... INEOS plc will double its capacity for ethylidene norbornene monomer (ENB) to 28 tonnes/y over the next three years. The capacity increase will enable the company to address the demand resulting from new EPDM capacity in Europe. The...

EUROPEAN RUBBER JOURNAL: Streamlined Reichhold taking global approach.
March 30, 2001... Reichhold Inc, a Dainippon Ink and Chemicals subsidiary, is restructuring its business units as well as moving towards global expansion to address clients' needs. The company is restructuring resource and its 26 business segments into...

PETROLEUM REVIEW: Anadarko reported to divest non-core assets.
March 30, 2001... Anadarko is considering to divest non-core assets valued at several hundred million dollars, according to reports. The plan comes after Anadarko's $777 M purchase of Canada based Berkley Petroleum. The Institute of Petroleum, 61 New...

PETROLEUM REVIEW: Baker Hughes posts higher earnings for 4Q 2000.
March 30, 2001... Baker Hughes recorded earnings of $81 M in 4Q 2000. The company's performance is a marked improvement from losses of $22.2 M posted in 4Q 1999. The Institute of Petroleum, 61 New Cavendish Street, London W1M 8AR, UK. Tel: +44 (0) 207...

PETROLEUM REVIEW: Apache posts higher 4Q 2000 earnings.
March 30, 2001... Apache recorded earnings of $252.2 bn in 4Q 2000, up 173% versus in 4Q 1999. The Institute of Petroleum, 61 New Cavendish Street, London W1M 8AR, UK. Tel: +44 (0) 207 467 7118/9. Fax: +44 (0) 207 637 0086. E-mail: petrev@petroleum.co.uk....

PETROLEUM REVIEW: Anadarko achieves 1600% higher income for 4Q 2000.
March 30, 2001... Anadarko Petroleum recorded a net income of $454 M for 4Q 2000, up 1600% versus in 4Q 1999. The company is forecast to achieve 1Q 2001 earnings 20% higher than in 4Q 2000. The Institute of Petroleum, 61 New Cavendish Street, London...

PETROLEUM REVIEW: Conoco achieves fourth consecutive record quarterly results.
March 30, 2001... Conoco achieved its fourth consecutive record quarterly results with a net income of $574 M and 44% higher revenues of more than $39 bn. The company attributes its strong performance to increased prices, higher output and strong refining...

PETROLEUM REVIEW: BHP to buy back 5% of share.
March 30, 2001... BHP of Australia is reportedly considering purchasing back 5% of its shares after earning a 1H 2000 profit of A$1.43 bn, up 18%. The Institute of Petroleum, 61 New Cavendish Street, London W1M 8AR, UK. Tel: +44 (0) 207 467 7118/9. Fax:...

PETROLEUM REVIEW: Iran's oil revenue to reach $20 bn by Mar 2001.
March 30, 2001... A National Iranian Oil Co official said that the country's oil revenue is forecast to reach $20 bn by Mar 2001. The Institute of Petroleum, 61 New Cavendish Street, London W1M 8AR, UK. Tel: +44 (0) 207 467 7118/9. Fax: +44 (0) 207 637...

PETROLEUM REVIEW: Lukoil to invest $400 M in Ukraine.
March 30, 2001... Lukoil is considering spending $400 M on its Ukrainian downstream projects over the next three years, according to reports. Of the total amount, $240 M will be allocated to refining activities, $100 M will go to petrochemicals, and $60...

PETROLEUM REVIEW: Continental prices influencing UK gas market.
March 30, 2001... Gas prices in the UK are being influenced by pricing activities in Continental Europe, according to report by independent energy consultants ILEX. ILEX said that the impact of Continental prices affect UK via the UK-Continental...

PETROLEUM REVIEW: Slovakia to sell stake in Slovnaft refinery.
March 30, 2001... A 7.9% stake in the Slovnaft refinery will be sold by the Slovakian National Property Fund for an undisclosed amount. Slovnaft has a processing capacity of up to 5.4 M t/y of oil. The Institute of Petroleum, 61 New Cavendish Street,...

PETROLEUM REVIEW: Shell to build gas-to-liquids plant in Egypt.
March 30, 2001... Shell is considering to construct a gas-to-liquids facility in Egypt to refine gas from the Nemed field. Nemed is reported to have 1 bn bbl of liquids reserve and 15 M of gas. The Institute of Petroleum, 61 New Cavendish Street,...

PETROLEUM REVIEW: Suppliers of petrol to the UK retail market.
March 30, 2001... Four tables show oil companies, main retailers, supermarkets and other retailers supplying petrol to the UK retail industry. Included are the number of retail petrol outlets displaying brand name, number of fuelling positions, number of...

PETROLEUM REVIEW: Powershift in transition.
March 30, 2001... The UK government's Powershift programme, an initiative aimed at promoting the use of clean fuels, continues to find solutions to increase utilisation of clean fuels despite low consumer interest on engines powered by alternative sources. ...

PHARMACEUTICAL TIMES: Generics outlook.
March 30, 2001... The worldwide generics market is projected to grow 10-15%/y compared to with the expected growth of 7-9%/y, based on The Generic Outlook 2001 report by Reuters.

PLASTICS AND RUBBER WEEKLY: China: Bayer and BASF compete for PE lead.
March 30, 2001... Both Bayer and BASF are increasing polyurethane activity in China in an attempt to obtain the lead in the Chinese market. In particular, both companies are making major investments in the Cao Jing site near Shanghai. Construction of...

PLASTICS AND RUBBER WEEKLY: Saudi Arabia: SABIC to double PE output with new plant.
March 30, 2001... Saudi Arabia Basic Industries (SABIC) is to build another polyethylene plant at Jubail, doubling the capacity to 800,000 tonnes/y. The company currently has a polyethylene capacity of 4M tonnes/y.

PLASTICS AND RUBBER WEEKLY: Teknor Apex's Uniprene can be used in potable water applications.
March 30, 2001... 13 grades of Teknor Apex's Uniprene 7010 series of thermoplastic elastomers have received Standard 61 approval from NSF International, the US public safety body, for use in potable water applications.

PLASTICS AND RUBBER WEEKLY: Basell develops PP resins to meet expected demand.
March 30, 2001... Basell, the 50:50 joint venture between Shell and BASF established in Oct 2000, believes that polypropylene will become the most widely used plastic in Europe by 2002 because of its versatility and good cost/performance ratio. The...

PLASTICS AND RUBBER WEEKLY: Teijin Bayer gets dense with disks.
March 30, 2001... Teijin Bayer, a 50:50 joint venture between Teijin Kasei of Japan and Bayer Japan, has developed ST3000, a polycarbonate which the company claims meets future market demands for higher data density capacity in CDs and DVDs. The material...

PLASTICS AND RUBBER WEEKLY: Cleaning up the medical sector.
March 30, 2001... Cyro, the US acrylics manufacturer, has developed Cyrolite Med, a blend of MMA, styrene and acrylate, a material which performs well against gamma sterilisation methods and exhibits improved resistance to isopropanol and lipids. The...

ADHESIVES AGE: House of blues?
March 30, 2001... The market for adhesives and coatings used in the construction industry is expected to be affected by the slowdown in the construction of new houses due to a slowdown in the US economy. A report by the National Association of Home...

ADHESIVES AGE: Epoxies: 3M's new Scotch-Weld Epoxy Adhesive DP-4XL EG.
March 30, 2001... 3M has offered a cleaner version of its 3M Scotch-Weld Epoxy Adhesive DP- 4XL with the new 3M Scotch-Weld Epoxy Adhesives DP-4XL EG. The new product, which offers excellent shear and peel adhesion, provides high levels of durability...

CHEMICAL MARKET REPORTER: Cabot Micro updates 2Q 2001 outlook.
March 30, 2001... Cabot Microelectronics Corp expects 2Q 2001 revenues down by 15-20% on 1Q 2001, but this is about 40-45% up on 2Q 2000 earnings of $39 M. The company expects fiscal revenue growth of about 50% in 2001. Website:...

CHEMICAL MARKET REPORTER: EPA moving forward on pesticide review.
March 30, 2001... The Environmental Protection Agency has re-assessed the safety of about half of the riskier pesticides that it planned to review under the federal food safety law of 1996. As of Oct 2000, the EPA had re-assessed 2275 of 5542 tolerances...

CHEMICAL MARKET REPORTER: EPA nixes split biotech registration.
March 30, 2001... The type of split pesticide registration, which permitted StarLink corn to be approved for animal feed but not for human use, has been eliminated as a regulatory option by the US Environmental Protection Agency. The decision was quickly...

CHEMICAL MARKET REPORTER: Efforts underway to renew fast-track trade authority.
March 30, 2001... The US Congress has been asked to give President Bush fast-track authority to negotiate new bilateral and regional free trade agreements. Fast- track authority had expired in President Clinton's first term and its renewal was blocked by...

CHEMICAL MARKET REPORTER: Maine's Rx drug pricing measure uncertain to pass.
March 30, 2001... The fate of Maine's attempt to regulate prices for prescription drugs awaits a decision by a three-judge panel. Implementation of the law, which would allow Maine to negotiate drug prices with pharmaceutical companies, has been stalled by...

CHEMICAL MARKET REPORTER: Newcomer Novozymes places all bets on enzymes.
March 30, 2001... Novozymes A/S (demerged from Novo Nordisk A/S in Nov 2000) has reported year 2000 operating profits of DKR 825 M (+20% on previous year). At IPO the company was valued at about DKR 7.5 bn, in Mar 2001 it is valued at DKR 13 bn. The...

CHEMICAL MARKET REPORTER: DuPont ups specialty gas capacity fuelled by electronics growth.
March 30, 2001... By the end of 1Q 2001 DuPont Fluoroproducts will have increased capacity for hexafluoroethane by 500,000 lbs/y (plant at Chamber Works, NJ) and by the end of 2001 capacity for octafluorocyclobutane will have been increased by 500,000 lbs/y...

CHEMICAL MARKET REPORTER: Alzheimer's treatments rush to a growing market.
March 30, 2001... The US market for drugs to treat Alzheimer's disease was $343 M in 1999 and is expected to grow at 32%/y to reach $2,42 bn by 2006. The market is dominated by Aricept (donepezil, Eisai and Pfizer), with minor players Exelon (rivastigmine...

CHEMICAL MARKET REPORTER: H2O2 market faces slowing demand.
March 30, 2001... In 2000, the US hydrogen peroxide market grew at about 8.5% and plants were operating at about 95% capacity, but in 2001 growth will slow to about 3.5%. Producers are being squeezed by higher production costs and falling demand from the...

CHEMICAL MARKET REPORTER: Southern Ionics expands aluminium product line, ups production in LA.
March 30, 2001... In 4Q 2001, Southern Ionics will bring an additional 130 M lbs/y aluminium chloride solution capacity on-stream at existing plants in Lake Charles and Baton Rouge, LA. The company has 10 sites in the southern US and also manufactures...

CHEMICAL MARKET REPORTER: BASF restructures North American vitamin biz, expands vitamin E.
March 30, 2001... AS part of its plan to invest EUR 600 M in its vitamin businesses, BASF will restructure its North American vitamin operations to increase cost efficiency and will also invest to strengthen its vitamin E holdings. Throughout 2002, the...

CHEMICAL MARKET REPORTER: Philippines cracker construction is delayed but moving.
March 30, 2001... The proposed $600 M, 600,000 - 700,000 tonnes/y ethylene cracker in the Philippines is still beset by economic and political problems. The cracker would free the Philippines polyethylene and polypropylene producers from using imported...

CHEMICAL MARKET REPORTER: Fungicides are key to Dow, Rohm and Haas ag chem merger.
March 30, 2001... In a deal expected to close in 2Q 2001, Dow AgroSciences LLC has bought Rohm and Haas's agrochemical business for $1 bn. Dow has fungicides sales of $114.8 M (about 5% of its total agrochemical sales). Rohm and Haas has Dithan...

CHEMICAL MARKET REPORTER: SB-latex market faces tightening margin pressures.
March 30, 2001... The styrene butadiene latex market is being squeezed by higher raw material (styrene and butadiene) and energy costs, and weak demand. Despite this, capacity is being increased and joint ventures and acquisitions are still proceeding. ...

CHEMICAL MARKET REPORTER: Millennium, Abbott sign $250 M drug deal.
March 30, 2001... Abbott Laboratories and Millennium Pharmaceutical have signed a $250 M, 5-year drug discovery and commercialisation agreement. Abbott will purchase $250 M of Millennium stock by 2003. With 35 current projects, the two companies...

CHEMICAL MARKET REPORTER: Bayer will not split up its holdings.
March 30, 2001... Bayer has resisted pressure from a group of American investors (who represent less than 1% of total shares) to split the company into three independent units: agrochemicals, chemicals and polymers, and healthcare (accounts for 30% of sales...

CHEMICAL MARKET REPORTER: Huntsman launches European TiO2 expansion in global growth plan.
March 30, 2001... Huntsman Tioxide is expanding production capacity in Spain, Malaysia, and the UK. In Spain, the company has a $40 M, 17,000 tonne/y expansion due on-stream in 4Q 2002. In Malaysia, the company has increased capacity by about 6000...

CHEMICAL MARKET REPORTER: Kao's fat-reducing DAG oil scheduled for US introduction.
March 30, 2001... Archer Daniels Midland has formed a joint venture with Japanese company Lao Corp to launch diacylglycerol cooking oils in the Australia, the EU, South America, and the US. In the year to 31 Mar 2001, Kao's patented cooking oil had sales...

DSM LIMBURG NIEUWS: DSM Composite Resins to Switzerland.
March 30, 2001... DSM Composite Resins is moving its head office from Zwolle, Netherlands, to Schaffhausen, Switzerland, with effect from 1 Apr 2001. The sales, purchasing, logistics and planning functions will be brought together in Switzerland from...

DSM LIMBURG NIEUWS: Summary of environmental complaints: for DSM at Geleen to Feb 2001. (1 table).
March 30, 2001... A table shows the number of environmental complains, from Mar 2000 to Feb 2001 inclusive, from outside the Geleen, Netherlands, site which were caused and confirmed by DSM. There were 53 complaints in Feb 2001, 46 of which were about...

DSM LIMBURG NIEUWS: DSM Utility Support Group develops into competence centre.
March 30, 2001... DSM and Utilities 2005 is the name of strategy plan which the company began in Feb 2000. This was completed in Aug 2000 and included different strategies for different situations, depending on a future partner for the petrochemicals...

OILGAS: Net importing balance for Spain for Jan-Nov 2000: 11.2 M tonnes. [1 table].
March 30, 2001... For Nov 2000, Spanish imports of petroleum products totalled 1.258 M tonnes, 21.4% lower than for Nov 1999. Exports rose to 676,000 tonnes (+24.0%). For the period Jan-Nov 2000 inclusive, imports totalled 17.984 M tonnes (+17%) and...

OILGAS: Spanish gasoline consumption falls in Nov 2000.
March 30, 2001... Spanish gasoline consumption for Nov 2000 totalled 628,000 tonnes, 9% lower than for Nov 1999. Petrol consumption for Oct 2000 was over 11% lower than for Oct 1999. During Jan-Nov 2000, gasoline consumption totalled 7.83 M tonnes (-...

OILGAS: BEI loan for Repsol Quimica.
March 30, 2001... The Banco Europeo de Inversiones (BEI) is providing PTS 30,000 M of financing for Repsol Quimica. The funds will be partly used on new facilities in Tarragona, Spain, to produce propylene oxide, styrene monomer and other petrochemicals....

OILGAS: Catalana de Polimers absorbs Sedapet subsidiary.
March 30, 2001... In Spain, Sedapet is to be merged into its parent, Catalana de Polimers. It is expected that, after this action, Catalana de Polimers' sales will rise to PTS 28,000 M and profits will reach PTS 1000 M. Original text in SPANISH

OILGAS: Solvay to invest PTS 15,000 M in Spain in 2001.
March 30, 2001... During 2001, Solvay Espana plans to invest PTS 15,000 M at facilities in Martorell, near Barcelona and Torrelavega, Cantabria. In Martorell, PTS 8000 M will be spent on raising PVC capacity to 230,000 tonne/y, and PTS 4000 M will be...

OILGAS: Cepsa to build a new petrochemical plant in Canada.
March 30, 2001... In Canada, Cepsa's subsidiary Interquisa has entered into a collaborative venture with Societe Generale de Financement du Quebec to build a 500,000 tonne/y purified terephthalic acid (PTA) plant in Montreal. Interquisa will hold a 51%...

OILGAS: Cepsa to invest PTS 15,000 M in the La Rabida refinery.
March 30, 2001... During 2001, Cepsa plans to invest some PTS 15,000 M in the La Rabida refinery in Huelva, Spain. Projects include increasing crude storage capacity (at a cost of PTS 6600 M) and raising propylene production to 17,500 bpsd (at a cost of...

OILGAS: Profertil opens fertiliser plant.
March 30, 2001... Profertil has started-up a $620 M fertiliser project near Bahia Blanca, Argentina. The facilities will produce 680,000 tonne/y of ammonia and 1.1 M tonne/y of urea. Original text in SPANISH

OILGAS: Second polycarbonates plant for GE Plastics.
March 30, 2001... Alfa Laval has won a contract to supply GE Plastics with 24 heat exchange columns for its second polycarbonates plant in Cartegena, Spain. The 130,000 tonne/y facility, currently in the design and construction phase, is costing PTS...

OILGAS: Petrol and diesel consumption in Spain: October 2000 and January-October 2000.[1 table].
March 30, 2001... During Oct 2000, 648,000 tonnes of petrol were consumed in Spain, 11.9% lower than for Oct 1999. Diesel consumption rose by 2.6% to 2.190 M tonnes. For the first ten months of 2000, petrol consumption fell by 3.5% to 7.198 M tonnes...

OILGAS: Petrobras to invest $400 M in the Mataripe refinery.
March 30, 2001... Petrobras is to invest $400 M in the Rlam refinery in Mataripe, Bahia, Brazil. Over the next few years a catalytic cracking unit will be installed, raising petrol capacity to 3.2 M m3/y, LPG capacity to 943,000 tonne/y and propylene to...

OILGAS: Petrobras to raise refinery production and capacity.
March 30, 2001... The Brazilian company Petrobras plans to invest $5000 M over the next decade to raise its global refinery capacity by 2 M bbl/day to 3.4 M bbl/day. Over the next five years, $33,000 M will be spent on raising domestic petroleum capacity...

PARFUMS, COSMETIQUES, AROMES: Wella signs as Camille Albane supplier.
March 29, 2001... An agreement has been signed between Dessange International and Wella, making Wella the supplier worldwide to Dessange's salons for the Camille Albane range of salon products. Dessange has 230 salons in France and 50 outside France. ...