Chemical Business Newsbase articles from September 2001, page 6

Chemical Business Newsbase archives from September 2001

CHIMIE HEBDO: Setback for Bush's plans for cheaper drugs in the US.
September 25, 2001... 2 major pharmaceutical associations have persuaded the Washington Federal Court to suspend government plans for reducing the price paid by retired people for drugs. George W Bush had opted for a programme which would have allowed...

CHIMIE HEBDO: Warning light for French generic drugs market.
September 25, 2001... In 2000 generic drugs accounted for only 3.1% of overall sales of refundable drugs in France (5.9% of total sales) according to 2 CNAM studies published by the Le Monde newspaper. These results make France the smallest consumer of generic...

CHIMIE HEBDO: French accounts court criticises government policy on drug prices.
September 25, 2001... In its preliminary 2001 report the French accounts court criticises the government's 1998 drugs policy, which so far has only had minimal impact on spending despite its ambitious targets. It also failed to double the size of the generic...

CHIMIE HEBDO: Technip's 1H 2001 results weighed down by merger with Coflexip.
September 25, 2001... At EUR 56.6 M (+1.8% compared with 1H 2000) Technip's 1H 2001 net profits after plus-values and exceptional elements were smaller than usual following the group's recent merger with Coflexip. Current net profits (after plus-values and...

CHIMIE HEBDO: Chocolate effective against Helicobacter pylori.
September 25, 2001... Researchers employed by Japanese company Moringa have discovered that some cocoa fatty acids are capable of killing the Helicobacter pylori bacteria which causes ulcers of the stomach and duodenum. The consumption of 3 cups of chocolate...

CHIMIE HEBDO: Air conditioning system in Micro Compact Car Smart vehicles uses DuPont's Suva 134a.
September 25, 2001... 80%+ of the Smart cars produced in Hambach, France have an air conditioning system based on DuPont's refrigerant Suva 134a. Mercedes Benz (which own part of Micro Compact Car Smart's capital) has been using Suva hydrofluorocarbons for 10...

AUSTRALASIAN BIOTECHNOLOGY: US/Australian Dendrimer nanotechnology venture.
September 25, 2001... Starpharma Pooled Development Ltd of Australia will spend $2.18 M in the next three years to form Dendritic Nanotechnologies Ltd with Dr Donald A Tomalia. The new firm will be based in Melbourne, Australia, and will have a branch and...

AUSTRALASIAN BIOTECHNOLOGY: Global expansion for stem cell sciences.
September 25, 2001... Stem Cell Sciences Ltd (SCS) of Melbourne, Australia, has formed Stem Cell Sciences (UK) Ltd. The new unit has set up laboratories and offices in the Centre for Genome Research (CGR) in the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. SCS has...

AUSTRALASIAN BIOTECHNOLOGY: Chemeq Ltd makes its first sale.
September 25, 2001... Chemeq Ltd has begun selling its CHEMEQ polymeric antimicrobial for pigs. The firm intends to sell limited quantities of CHEMEQ to selected Asian commercial piggeries after a year. The firm will initially be supervising the product's...

AUSTRALASIAN BIOTECHNOLOGY: Progen's first US clinical trial with anti-cancer drug.
September 25, 2001... Progen Industries Ltd will put its PI-88 anti-cancer drug under Phase I & II clinical trials starting 30 Jul 2001 in the University of Colorado Health Sciences Centre, USA. Medigen Biotechnology Corp is the firm's strategic partner for...

AUSTRALASIAN BIOTECHNOLOGY: Panbio signs major research agreement.
September 25, 2001... PanBio Ltd renewed a seven-year deal with the Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) for the development of enhanced disease diagnostic and new products for export. Both parties will spend A$12 M and the Australian government will grant CRC a...

AUSTRALASIAN BIOTECHNOLOGY: Progen lodges provisional patent for drug design.
September 25, 2001... Progen Industries Ltd has filed a provisional patent with the Australian Patent Office for its linked cyclitol and their polysulfated derivatives. These are novel chemistries that mimic the shape of carbohydrates and that can be utilised...

AUSTRALASIAN BIOTECHNOLOGY: New biotechnology company launched in Adelaide.
September 25, 2001... TGR BioSciences Pty Ltd is a newly formed biotechnology firm based in Adelaide, Australia. The firm will focus on developing and commercialising novel bioreactives that will be used to treat tendon, bone, topical wound and gut disorders....

AUSTRALASIAN BIOTECHNOLOGY: Gropeps new clinical trial.
September 25, 2001... Gropep of Adelaide, Australia, started a new clinical trial for its WGFE-a drug. The drug is seen as a possible treatment for severe mouth ulcers, which is one side effect of high-dose chemotherapy. The trial, which will be conducted...

AUSTRALASIAN BIOTECHNOLOGY: Prana wins grant to treat Alzheimer's.
September 25, 2001... Prana Biotechnology Ltd received a A$1.74 M START grant from the Australian Industry Research and Development Board. The grant will be utilised to expand its drug pipeline to develop anti-Alzheimer's Disease drugs.

AUSTRALASIAN BIOTECHNOLOGY: Peplin biotech announces cancer breakthrough.
September 25, 2001... Peplin Biotech of Brisbane, Australia, filed three new international patents for new compounds that attack surviving cancer cells. The firm hopes to utilise these compounds to develop immune system-based anticancer drugs with domestic...

AUSTRALASIAN BIOTECHNOLOGY: Australian Cancer Technology developing new cancer drug.
September 25, 2001... Australian Cancer Technology Ltd of Sydney, Australia, is developing an anticancer drug based on p53 molecule. The firm also supports other biotechnology and cancer therapy research projects.

AUSTRALASIAN BIOTECHNOLOGY: Cellestis tests new drug.
September 25, 2001... Cellestis Ltd finished the Phase I clinical trial of Quantiferon-TB, its first tuberculosis (TB) diagnostic product. The product is a new screening test for early detection of TB. The FDA sped up the review for the product's approval...

AUSTRALASIAN BIOTECHNOLOGY: Australian Cancer Technology to test p53 cancer vaccine.
September 25, 2001... Australian Cancer Technology Ltd, Australia, will be conducting the human trial of its p53 cancer vaccine in Aug 2001. The vaccine is based on synthetic human antibodies from lymph nodes of colon cancer patients with mutated or...

AUSTRALASIAN BIOTECHNOLOGY: Autogen files for patent applications of novel genes.
September 25, 2001... Autogen Ltd has filed preliminary patent applications for its Beacon and Tanis genes. Beacon is shown to regulate body weight and food intake of obese animal subjects. Tanis is found to have a significant effect in Type 2 diabetes.

CHEMISCH2WEEKBLAD: Solvay and LPW exchange activities.
September 25, 2001... Solvay and Langbein-Pfanhauser Werke (LPW) have reached agreement over an exchange of activities in the area of plastics processing. Solvay will acquire the industrial films activities of the LPW subsidiary Cova Products in the UK and US....

CHEMISCH2WEEKBLAD: Explosion at Toulouse plant.
September 25, 2001... On 21 Sep 2001 a major explosion took place at a petrochemicals plant in a suburb of Toulouse, France. Twelve people are known to have died and around 200 were injured. Two industrial buildings, each around 100 metres in length, were...

CHEMISCH2WEEKBLAD: Bayer expands cooperation with Millennium.
September 25, 2001... Bayer is to extend its collaboration with the US biotechnology firm Millennium Pharmaceuticals. Together the two companies have discovered 140 targets for various medicines in a project costing EUR 500 M. This cooperation could help...

EUROPEAN PAINT AND RESIN NEWS: Executive briefing.
September 25, 2001... Akzo Nobel has predicted that worldwide consumption of powder coatings will amount to 700,000 tonnes in 2000 while the Japan Powder Coatings Association expected it to increase from 582,000 tonnes in 1996 to 728,000 tonnes in 1999. Sales...

EUROPEAN PAINT AND RESIN NEWS: Corporate rankings. [4 tables].
September 25, 2001... The annual rankings of coatings firms presented by the American trade press, including Coatings World and Paint & Coating Industry, may show some discrepancies. The differences may be attributed to the fluctuating dollar, the selected...

EUROPEAN PAINT AND RESIN NEWS: Feidal buys Wit & Janssen.
September 25, 2001... Duisburg, Germany-based Feidal GmbH has acquired a majority stake in paint firm Wit & Janssen in Oldenburg, Germany. Feidal is expected to focus on making building paints and wood stains at its new Oldenburg facility and launch waterbased...

EUROPEAN PAINT AND RESIN NEWS: Pigment and printing ink leaders in China. [ 2 tables].
September 25, 2001... The pigment industry in China can be considered as diverse, with products ranking from dyes to titanium dioxide. Of the top ten firms in the industry, one is state-owned, four are foreign-funded while two are limited liability firms. ...

EUROPEAN PAINT AND RESIN NEWS: BASF expands binder capacity in Muenster to 100,000 tonnes and establishes new UV-curing centre.
September 25, 2001... BASF Coatings will allocate EUR 3.5 M for the expansion of facilities for manufacturing special binders for eco-efficient coatings at Muenster, Germany. The expansion will increase the capacity for special binders for eco-efficient...

EUROPEAN PAINT AND RESIN NEWS: Scott Bader to construct new 900 sq m water-based emulsion polymer plant.
September 25, 2001... Scott Bader will increase the production capacity for double emulsion polymers at its headquarters in Wollaston, Northants in UK by two-fold. The company will be investing #6 M for the construction of a 900 sq m water-based emulsion...

EUROPEAN PAINT AND RESIN NEWS: Eastman announces name for new PET plastics, acetate fibres company.
September 25, 2001... Eastman Chemical will be using the name Voridian for a new firm that will handle the production and marketing of PET plastics, acetate fibres and polyethylene products. The company will be separating into two firms by the end of 2001. ...

EUROPEAN PAINT AND RESIN NEWS: Millennium Chemicals to idle titanium dioxide plant at Hawkins Point, Maryland.
September 25, 2001... Millennium Chemicals will be discontinuing the operations of its 44,000 tonne/y sulfate-process plant in Hawkins Point, MD. The firm will be reducing 10% of the workforce, or 430 jobs. The closure of the plant as well as the job...

EUROPEAN PAINT AND RESIN NEWS: Rohm and Haas to close Chicago Heights plant and Mississippi adhesives unit.
September 25, 2001... Rohm and Haas intends to close its plant in Chicago Heights, IL, by 30 Sep 2002. The closure is expected to result in the loss of about 41 jobs. The production of emulsions for cement modifiers, interior and exterior house paints and...

EUROPEAN PAINT AND RESIN NEWS: Paint exports in Austria enjoy good fortune in 2000.
September 25, 2001... Austria posted an 18.5% increase in paint exports to 45,039 tonnes in 2000. The country's paint imports grew by 3% to 63,021 tonnes. Eastern Europe accounted for more than 4% of all the exports, with the bulk going to Poland, Hungary...

EUROPEAN PAINT AND RESIN NEWS: Paint output in Germany in 2.6% drop in 1Q 2001 and sales of DIY paints in Germany have declined 1.1% in value and 4.0% in units over the last 12 months.
September 25, 2001... German production of paint, excluding thinners, has declined by 2.6% in volume in 1Q 2001. Production declined by a total of 1.3% if thinners are included. Sales, excluding thinners, increased by 2.5% while sales, including thinners,...

EUROPEAN PAINT AND RESIN NEWS: Wood stains in Germany in cautious recovery.
September 25, 2001... The retail wood stains market in Germany is showing some signs of recovery. Volumes for the period Feb 2000-May 2000 fell by 8.9% from the same period in the previous year. A lower percentage of decline of 5% was noted in the period...

EUROPEAN PAINT AND RESIN NEWS: Titanium dioxide supply situation in Russia.
September 25, 2001... The Russian titanium dioxide market is considered to be two-tiered, with high quality imported titanium dioxide being offered at $2.55-$2.70/kg and lower quality Ukrainian brands selling at $1.50-$1.80/kg. Raw materials for an additional...

EUROPEAN PAINT AND RESIN NEWS: Paint exports in Switzerland increase, imports decrease.
September 25, 2001... Paint exports in Switzerland reached 35,277 tonnes while imports amounted to 36,821 tonnes in 2000. 99% of the imports and 81% of the exports were accounted for by the EU. Germany accounted for 13,544 tonnes of the exports while France,...

EUROPEAN PAINT AND RESIN NEWS: UK paint, paint effects and woodcare market predicted to grow to #855 M by 2004.
September 25, 2001... The UK market for paints, paint effects and woodcare products is expected to achieve a steady growth of around 2%-3%. It has been valued at #771 M in 2000 and is forecast to increase to #855 M by 2004. A slowdown in the market in...

EUROPEAN PAINT AND RESIN NEWS: Chinese paint market increases by 27.5% to reach 2.45 M tonnes in 2000, radcure in China growing at 40% a year.
September 25, 2001... The paint market in China has amounted to 2.45 M tonnes in 2000, indicating a 27.5% increase over the previous year. Imports amounting to 180,853 tonnes has supplemented production, which reached 2.34 M tonnes. Chinese exports were...

EUROPEAN PAINT AND RESIN NEWS: Paint shipments in USA down 7.5% in 1Q 2001.
September 25, 2001... Shipments by paint producers in the USA declined by 7.5% in volume to 301.5 M gallons and by 6.5% in value to $3.9 bn in 1Q 2001, from the same period in 2000. Architectural coatings, which had the biggest loss, fell by 17.3% in volume...

EUROPEAN PAINT AND RESIN NEWS: Paint output in South Africa down for the third consecutive year, to 211.3 M litres in 2000.
September 25, 2001... South Africa has registered a 1.8% decline in paint production to 211.3 M in 2000. Increases in volume were seen in a number of categories, including polyvinyl acetate and emulsion, brushing enamels and industrial finishes. ...

EUROPEAN PAINT AND RESIN NEWS: RPM sales up by 2% and net income by 53% in fiscal 2000.
September 25, 2001... RPM Inc in the USA has posted a 2% increase in sales from $1.96 bn to $2.01 bn for the year ended 31 May 2001. The company also registered a 54% increase in net income in the said period. Sales also reached $2.0078 bn while pre-tax...

EUROPEAN PAINT AND RESIN NEWS: ChemConnect enters China.
September 25, 2001... ChemConnect, the US-based online trading exchange that gathers buyers and sellers of chemicals and plastics worldwide, has formed a partnership with China Chemical City on the Internet (CCCOI). The Chinese online trading exchange...

ADHESIVES AGE: Sovereign buys distributor.
September 25, 2001... Sovereign Specialty Chemicals Inc announced that it acquired some sales operations of IMPAG, which distributes products made by Sovereign's subsidiary, Pierce & Stevens. A top Sovereign official noted that the firm is now leveraging its...

ADHESIVES AGE: A-very tough 2Q 2001 for Dennison.
September 25, 2001... Avery Dennison's net income dropped from $72.8 M in 2Q 2000 to $59.8 M in 2Q 2001. Sales for the period also dropped 3.3% to $960.8 M, while earnings per share declined $0.12 to $0.61. The firm attributed the tough quarter to the...

ADHESIVES AGE: JM Huber acquires Noviant Oy.
September 25, 2001... Speciality chemicals firm Noviant Oy of Finland was bought by JM Huber.

ADHESIVES AGE: Kole Imports recalls contact adhesives.
September 25, 2001... Kole Imports of Carson, CA, is voluntarily recalling around 90,000 packages of contact adhesive in coordination with the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). The move was undertaken after the Texas State Health Department...

ADHESIVES AGE: Water-washable sealant from Loctite.
September 25, 2001... Loctite Corp is offering a water washable sealant, called Loctite Resinol AT. The product is a clear-amber liquid resin that is applied with a vacuum impregnation process. It glows flourescent blue under black light and is designed...

THE INDEPENDENT: Toulouse chemical explosion kills 25.
September 25, 2001... A huge accidental explosion in a chemicals factory killed at least 25 people, injured about 700 and caused widespread panic in Toulouse, France, on 21 Sep 2001. The shockwaves were so powerful that police were inundated with reports of...

FEDERAL REGISTER: Pesticides: final guidance for pesticide registrants on disposal instructions for non-antimicrobial, residential/household use pesticide product labels.
September 25, 2001... The US Environmental Protection Agency is announcing the availability of a Pesticide Registration Notice (PR-Notice) entitled "Disposal Instructions on Non-Antimicrobial, Residential/Household Use Pesticide Product Labels." This...

FEDERAL REGISTER: Adjustment of import limits for certain cotton, man-made fiber, silk blend and other vegetable fiber textiles and textile products produced or manufactured in Bangladesh.
September 25, 2001... On 14 Sep 2001 the US Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements issued a directive to the Commissioner of Customs adjusting import limits for certain cotton, man-made fiber, silk blend and other vegetable fiber textiles and...

FEDERAL REGISTER: Fenamiphos and metolachlor: receipt of requests for voluntary cancellation of uses.
September 25, 2001... In accordance with section 6(f)(1) of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), as amended, the US Environmental Protection Agency is issuing a notice of receipt of requests from the registrants Bayer Corp and Syngenta...

FEDERAL REGISTER: Diazinon: products cancellation order.
September 25, 2001... This notice announces the US Environmental Protection Agency's cancellation order for the product and use cancellations as requested by several companies (Prentiss Inc, Unicorn Laboratories, Micro Flo Co, Agriliance, Diall Chemical Co,...

FEDERAL REGISTER: Propamocarb hydrochloride: pesticide tolerances for emergency exemptions.
September 25, 2001... This regulation, from the US Environmental Protection Agency, revises time-limited tolerances for residues of propamocarb hydrochloride in or on tomato and tomato, paste and revokes the time limited tolerance for residues of propamocarb...

FEDERAL REGISTER: Azoxystrobin: pesticide tolerances.
September 25, 2001... This regulation, from the US Environmental Protection Agency, establishes tolerances for combined residues of azoxystrobin in or on acerola, atemoya, avocado, biriba, black sapote, leafy greens (Brassica) subgroup (subgroup 5B), bushberry...

FEDERAL REGISTER: Sulfosate: pesticide tolerances.
September 25, 2001... This regulation, from the US Environmental Protection Agency, establishes a tolerance for residues of sulfosate (the trimethylsulfonium salt of glyphosate, also known as glyphosate-trimesium) in or on cotton, gin by- products, cotton...

FEDERAL REGISTER: Paraquat: pesticide tolerances.
September 25, 2001... This regulation, from the US Environmental Protection Agency, establishes tolerances for residues of paraquat in or on dry pea; endive; field corn grain, forage and stover; pop corn grain and stover; globe artichoke; and persimmon. The...

CHEMICAL WEEK: Companies agree to settle $120 M superfund suit.
September 25, 2001... $120 M is to be paid by several petrochemical makers and refiners, including Shell, Rohm & Haas, OxyChem, Goodyear and ExxonMobil, to settle a Superfund lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice in 1998 with Texas state regulators and the...

CHEMICAL WEEK: Suez to list shares on the NYSE.
September 25, 2001... Suez (Paris) aims to begin trading American Depository Shares on the New York Stock Exchange from 18 Sep 2001. The move will enable the company to expand within the US market. Suez's operations within the US include the hazardous...

CHEMICAL WEEK: California court rejects suit against MTBE ban.
September 25, 2001... A lawsuit brought by the Oxygenated Fuels Association, representing producers of methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE), to block a plan to ban the use of MTBE in California, US from 2003 has been rejected by the US District Court in Sacramento. ...

CHEMICAL WEEK: P&G, Unilever settle spying case.
September 25, 2001... $10 M is reported to have been paid to Unilever by Procter & Gamble to settle a dispute over alleged spying by P&G into Unilever's hair care business.

CHEMICAL WEEK: Avery buys Jackstadt's adhesives unit.
September 25, 2001... Jackstadt's $400 M/y pressure-sensitive adhesive materials business based in Wuppertal, Germany is to be acquired by Avery Dennison for an undisclosed amount. The deal will be completed during 4Q 2001. Since 1996 Jackstadt's sales...

CHEMICAL WEEK: Sherwin-Williams adds Martha Stewart.
September 25, 2001... A new line of paints under the Martha Stewart Signature brand is to be manufactured and sold by Sherwin-Williams. Terms of the agreement have not been disclosed.

CHEMICAL WEEK: PPG expands silica-based sheet.
September 25, 2001... $15 M has been invested by PPG Industries to begin production at a second silica-based synthetic printing sheet line at Barberton, OH, US. The new line will more than double the company's capacity for Teslin brand sheet products. ...

CHEMICAL WEEK: Cytec completes BP carbon fibre buy.
September 25, 2001... BP's carbon fibre business has been acquired by Cytec Industries. The carbon fibre unit reported sales of $17 M during 1H 2001, 50% of which were to Cytec.

CHEMICAL WEEK: Sasol plans overseas listing.
September 25, 2001... Sasol (Johannesburg) hopes to be listed on the New York and London stock exchange before the end of 2002. Sasol invested EUR 1.3 bn early in 2001 to acquire Condea, now operating as Sasol Chemie. Sasol intends to continue its...

CHEMICAL WEEK: Two dead in Wacker blast.
September 25, 2001... Two workers were killed in an explosion and fire at Wacker-Chemie's ceramics plant in Kempten, Germany on 6 Sep 2001. Production at the plant that has sales of EUR 100 M/y, has been stopped. Police, internal and external...

CHEMICAL WEEK: Kemira buys Baerle's paper chemicals.
September 25, 2001... An undisclosed sum is to be invested by Kemira to acquire the paper chemicals business from Baerle of Munchenstein in Switzerland. The business has sales of around EUR 3.4 M/y and produces rosin sizes and polymers. Polymers will...

CHEMICAL WEEK: Brussels probes BP's acquisition of Veba Oel.
September 25, 2001... The proposed acquisition by BP of Veba Oel's petrochemical business is being investigated by the European Commission. BP intends to acquire a 51% stake in Veba Oel that produces petrochemical and petroleum. An investigation is also...

CHEMICAL WEEK: Agrofert, OMV, Sibur bid for Unipetrol.
September 25, 2001... The 62.99% stake held by the Czech government in Unipetrol is for sale. Interested parties include Agrofert of Prague, OMV of Vienna and Sibur of Moscow, Russia. The government intends to raise between $250 M and $300 M from the...

CHEMICAL WEEK: Sibur may acquire Croatian firm.
September 25, 2001... The $146 M/y petrochemicals producer, Doki of Zagreb in Croatia that also owns Dina of Krk Island, could be acquired by Sibur. Sibur is attracted by Doki's location and its distribution network throughout western Europe. The company...

CHEMICAL WEEK: Bidding war breaks out for PKN Orlen stake.
September 25, 2001... MOL (Budapest) and OMV (Vienna) are involved in a bidding war for the acquisition of a 17.6% stake in PKN Orlen of Plock, Poland that is currently owned by the Polish government. Bids are currently around 55% above the share price early...

CHEMICAL WEEK: British Vita to divest Spartech stake.
September 25, 2001... British Vita hopes to make around #70 M on the sales of its 46% share in Spartech of St Louis, US as part of its restructuring programme. During 3Q 2001, ending 4 Aug 2001, Spartech reported a 22% fall in operating profits to $24 M on...

CHEMICAL WEEK: Eastman files SEC registration for proposed split.
September 25, 2001... On 31 Aug 2001 a registration document was filed by Eastman Chemical with SEC regarding the proposed split of its specialities and plastics business. In Aug 2001 Eastman announced that its commodities unit would be known as Voridian. ...

CHEMICAL WEEK: Celanese cuts 850 jobs, lowers earnings forecast.
September 25, 2001... A restructuring programme has been announced by Celanese Chemicals that will reduce its workforce by 6.5% (850 jobs). The company is to close its 90,000 tonnes/y acetic acid plant at Edmonton, AB in Canada and close two, as yet...

CHEMICAL WEEK: Chevron moves headquarters.
September 25, 2001... The headquarters of Chevron are to be moved to San Ramon, CA, US from San Francisco. 200 employees will be relocated to San Ramon late in 2002.

CHEMICAL WEEK: Mead and Westvaco agree to $10 bn merger.
September 25, 2001... MeadWestvaco is a new $8 bn/y company created by the merger of Mead (Dayton, OH, US) and Westvaco (Stamford, CT, US) in at tax-free $10 bn stock swap. Westvaco's speciality segment recorded a 24% increase in operating profit to $64.5 M...

CHEMICAL WEEK: BASF to sell insecticide line.
September 25, 2001... BASF has sold its phosdrin insecticide business to American Vanguard of Newport Beach, CA, US for an undisclosed sum. The deal includes trademarks in 55 countries and all active registrations for its products including access to the...

CHEMICAL WEEK: BP Canada NGL fire under control.
September 25, 2001... A fire at BP Canada's natural gas liquids (NGL) facility in Fort Saskatchewan, AB, Canada was finally extinguished 10 days after it began on 4 Sep 2001. The fire was caused by an uncontrolled leakage of ethane at the wellheads that...

CHEMICAL WEEK: BP boosts sulfone polymers production.
September 25, 2001... BP is to expand production of sulfone monomer at Augusta, GA by 15% and sulfone polymers (Radel polyphenylsulfone and polyethersulfone) at Marietta, OH, US by 40% from 4Q 2001. BP's plan to sell its engineering polymers operations to...

CHEMICAL WEEK: CEFIC slams chemical authorization proposals.
September 25, 2001... The chemical industry in Europe could be negatively impacted by recent proposals by the European Parliament aimed at tightening the environmental regulation of chemicals in response to the white paper produced by the European Commission that...

CHEMICAL WEEK: Vantico results for 1H 2001.
September 25, 2001... During 1H 2001 Vantico of Luxembourg reported a 12% increase in operating profits to SFR 76 M on sales that fell 3% to SFR 884 M.

CHEMICAL WEEK: Lenzing results for 1H 2001.
September 25, 2001... During 1H 2001 Lenzing of Austria reported a 13% increase in operating profits to EUR 24 M on sales that increased 7% to EUR 343 M. Full year earnings are expected to be slightly below those in 2000.

CHEMICAL WEEK: Bayer faces prosecution over Baycol: closes in on Aventis CropScience.
September 25, 2001... A preliminary investigation is to be launched by the District Attorney of Cologne, Germany into possible negligence by Bayer over its Baycol/Lipobay cholesterol-lowering drug that it withdrew from sale in Aug 2001. The drug has been...