Chemical Week articles from September 2006

Chemical Week archives from September 2006

No more sacred cows.(viewpoint)(proposed selling of GE Advanced Materials to Apollo Management)
September 27, 2006... There were many raised eyebrows earlier this month when General Electric (GE) announced that it would sell GE Advanced Materials, its silicones and quartz business, to private equity firm Apollo Management (CW, Sept. 20,/2. 12). It isn't just...

Chevron-UC Davis biofuels link.(University of California)(Brief article)
September 27, 2006... Chevron and the University of California, Davis (UC Davis; Davis, CA) say they have entered into a research partnership to develop biofuels. Through its subsidiary, Chevron Technology Ventures (CTV; Houston), Chevron will invest up to $25...

Sinorgchem appeals ITC ruling.(Brief article)
September 27, 2006... Sinorgchem (Shanghai) says it has filed for a review and appeal at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington of a ruling that the company infringed on Flexsys's process patents for producing 4-aminodiphenylamine used as...

3M joins RFID Consortium.(radio frequency identification )(Brief article)
September 27, 2006... 3M says it has agreed to join the RFID Consortium (Chicago), a group of companies that pool their respective radio frequency identification (RFID) technology patents to promote rapid adoption of RFID technology. All essential RFID patents...

Univar outsources some logistics.(Brief article)
September 27, 2006... Odyssey Logistics & Technology (Danbury, CT) says it has formed an alliance with Univar USA, under which Odyssey will handle services including all of Univar's inbound bulk and package transportation management, including carrier selection,...

Tronox restarts Australian rutile plant; ramps up Georgia unit.(Brief article)
September 27, 2006... Tronox says that production at its Tiwest synthetic rutile plant in Chandala, Western Australia, a 50/50 joint venture between Tronox and Kumba Resources (Perth, Australia), has returned to normal levels after an unplanned shutdown in July....

Performance Fibers to idle Alabama plant.(Brief article)
September 27, 2006... Performance Fibers (Richmond, VA) says it plans to temporarily stop polyester fiber production at its Scottsboro, AL facility, in response to "slowing demand in North America caused by U.S. tire manufacturing cutbacks, high raw material...

National Starch opens North Carolina plant.(Brief article)
September 27, 2006... National Starch and Chemical says it has opened new adhesives, synthetic polymers, and electronic materials production facilities at its Salisbury, NC site. The new facilities add more than 10,000 sq ft of production area to the existing...

Air Products wins NASA nitrogen contract.(Brief article)
September 27, 2006... NASA has selected Air Products to design, furnish, and install a plant to produce liquid nitrogen for the National Transonic Facility, a cryogenic wind tunnel located at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, VA. The 24-month, firm-fixed...

DuPont teams up with China for safety improvements.(China Academy of Safety Science and Technology, Industry Safety Advisory Council)(Brief article)
September 27, 2006... DuPont says it has signed a memorandum of understanding with the China Academy of Safety Science & Technology (CASST; Beijing) to establish industrial workplace safety practices in China. DuPont and CASST will establish the Industry Safety...

Nycomed to acquire Altana's Pharma business.(Brief article)
September 27, 2006... Nycomed (Roskilde, Denmark), a private equity owned pharmaceutical company, has confirmed CW's earlier report that it will acquire Altana Pharma (Konstanz, Germany), the pharmaceutical business of Altana (Bad Homburg, Germany) (CW, Aug. 9, p....

Permira to bid with another private equity firm for BorsodChem.(VCP, Kikkolux)(Brief article)
September 27, 2006... Private equity firms Permira and VCP (Vienna) have made a public offer to jointly purchase all outstanding shares in BorsodChem (Kazincbarcika, Hungary). First Chemical Holding Vagyonkezelo (Budapest), on behalf of Kikkolux (Luxembourg)--a...

Another big emission-reduction deal announced for China.(Climate Change Capital)(Brief article)
September 27, 2006... A consortium led by Climate Change Capital (CCC; London) says it has completed the biggest private sector emission-reduction deal under the Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). The consortium will purchase carbon credits, which...

IPO imminent for Symrise?(initial public offering )(Brief article)
September 27, 2006... Private equity company EQT (Stockholm) is planning an initial public offering (IPO) in November for the company's Symrise Holding (Holzminden, Germany) flavors and fragrances business, according to recent press reports. EQT has hired Deutsche...

Kemira buys water treatment firms.(Parcon)(Brief article)
September 27, 2006... Kemira says it has agreed to acquire four water treatment chemical distribution businesses from Parcon (Copenhagen) for an undisclosed amount. The businesses are Gropa, Roma, Scantank, and SPS. They have combined sales of about 21 million...

BASF plans amines hike.(Brief article)
September 27, 2006... BASF says it plans to expand combined capacity at Ludwigshafen for the special amines aminodiglycol (ADG) and morpholine from 20,000 m.t./year, to 30,000 m.t./year. Completion is scheduled for the first quarter of 2007. BASF makes these...

Fatal blast at Perstorp plant.(Brief article)
September 27, 2006... A "dust explosion" and fire on September 12 at Perstorp's Bruchhausen, Germany site killed one worker and injured two, the company says. The accident also caused severe damage to the site's production facilities, Perstorp says. An...

Odfjell acquires five tankers.(Brief article)
September 27, 2006... Odfjell says it has acquired four chemical tankers from other European shipowners, and taken delivery of a new vessel. The acquired vessels were built between 1995 and 1997, and all have stainless steel cargo tanks. The new ship was delivered...

Fire almost destroys Brenntag site.(Brief article)
September 27, 2006... A fire on September 1 "almost completely destroyed" Brenntag's distribution facilities at Caldas de Reis, Spain, the company says. There were no injuries. The fire had been extinguished by September 5, but fire-fighting water contaminated...

Falling energy prices provide short-term margin boost.(top of the week)
September 27, 2006... Crudeoil and natural gas costs have dropped sharply since early August, providing at least a short-term boost to industry margins in the second half, analysts say. Energy price declines continued last week as Henry Hub natural gas spot prices...

Merck KGaA to acquire Serono for over $13 billion.(top of the week)
September 27, 2006... Merck KGaA has announced plans to purchase Serono (Geneva), Europe's largest biotechnology firm, for SF16.6 billion ($13.2 billion). Merck has agreed to acquire the Bertarelli family's 64.5% stake in Serono for SFl,100/share, also securing...

Ashland COO to retire; company warns on fourth quarter.(UNITED STATES/AMERICAS)(Gary Cappeline, Ashland Chemical Co.)
September 27, 2006... Gary Cappeline, president and COO/ Chemical Sector at Ashland, will retire on April 1, 2007, Ashland says. Separately, the company says that it expects its Valvoline unit to incur an operating loss in the fourth quarter ending September 30,...

Albemarle to buy DSM fine chemicals unit in Michigan; solve cGMP capacity constraints.(business & finance news)
September 27, 2006... Albemarle says it has signed an agreement to purchase DSM's pharmaceutical chemicals facility at South Haven, MI. The deal, which includes the assets, fine chemistry services, and pharmaceuticals business associated with the South Haven...

Lyondell completes bond offering.(business & finance news)(Lyondell Chemical)(Brief article)
September 27, 2006... Lyondell Chemical says it has completed the sale of nearly $1.8 billion in senior unsecured notes. Lyondell says it will use $875 million of the net proceeds to repay a portion of the seven-year term loan used to finance its recent...

Georgia Gulf receives approvals to acquire Royal.(business & finance news)(Royal Group Technologies )(Brief article)
September 27, 2006... Georgia Gulf says it has received the required antitrust approvals to buy Royal Group Technologies (Toronto), a supplier of fabricated vinyl products and building materials, in a deal valued at approximately C$1.7 billion ($1.54 billion). The...

Omnova, Park Electrochemical report earnings gains.(Omnova Solutions)
September 27, 2006... Early chemical industry earnings reports have been mixed so far. Omnova Solutions and Park Electrochemical (Melville, NY) reported earnings up for the latest quarter, but Ashland has warned against its fiscal third-quarter results ending...

BP plans $3 billion Indiana refinery upgrade.(business & finance news)
September 27, 2006... BP says it will invest $3 billion to reconfigure and upgrade its Whiting, IN refinery so that it can accommodate heavy Canadian crude oil feedstock. BP says the project has the potential to increase its production of motor fuels by 15%, which...

PPG purchases aerospace transparencies maker.(PPG Industries )(Brief article)
September 27, 2006... PPG Industries says it has purchased aerospace transparencies supplier Sierracin (Sylmar, CA) for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition with Sierracin, which employs about 600 people, will provide PPG with a broader portfolio for the...

Revised plant security bill silent on IST, state laws.(inherently safer technologies )
September 27, 2006... Lawmakers including Senator Susan Collins (R., ME) and Representative Peter King (R., NY) have agreed on chemical plant security provisions to be added as an amendment to a House Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding bill, sources...

EPA final soot rule goes against advisory panel recommendations.(Environmental Protection Agency)
September 27, 2006... EPA has finalized its revised air quality standard for fine particles, or soot, making few changes from the proposed rule and foregoing some of the recommendations of its Science Advisory Committee. The measure has drawn fire from all sides...

Bayer CropScience to triple bioscience sales; details cuts.(EUROPE/MIDEAST)
September 27, 2006... Bayer CropScience, the largest producer of agchems, has outlined an aggressive strategy to triple sales of the company's fast-growing bioscience business and consolidate activities in more mature agchem segments. The company is embarking on...

Topsoe Fuel Cell project attracts EU funding.(European Union)(Topsoe Fuel Cell)(Brief article)
September 27, 2006... Topsoe Fuel Cell, a business unit of catalysts producer Haldor Topsoe (Lyngby, Denmark), has been awarded a 4.8-million [euro] ($6.1 million) grant by the European Union (EU) toward a 13.4-million [euro] project to develop and manufacture...

China launches BPA dumping probe.(business & finance news)(bisphenol A)(Brief article)
September 27, 2006... The Ministry of Commerce (Beijing) says it plans to launch an antidumping investigation into imports of bisphenol A (BPA) by China from Japan, Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan. The inquiry is expected to end within one year.

Vopak builds biodiesel storage.(Brief article)
September 27, 2006... Vopak says it will build 105,000 cu meters of biodiesel tank storage capacity at the company's Banyan Terminal at Jurong Island, Singapore. The project will increase total capacity at the Banyan facility to 535,000 cu meters by the end of...

Sinopec commissions cracker.(Brief article)
September 27, 2006... Sinopec says it has commissioned a naphtha cracker with capacity for 640,000 m.t./year of ethylene at Maoming, China. The $1-billion project raises ethylene capacity at Sinopec's Maoming complex to more than 1 million m.t./year, the company...

CNOOC's fertilizer unit launches IPO; forms partnership with Yara.(China Blue Chemical, China National Offshore Oil Corp., Yara International)(Brief article)
September 27, 2006... China BlueChemical (Dongfang, China) says it aims to raise HK$2.7 billion ($347 million) in an initial public offering (IPO) on the Hong Kong stock exchange. China Blue is selling 32% of its equity in the offering. The IPO was due to begin on...

Chisso and Asahi merge fertilizers.(business & finance news)(Asahi Kasei)(Brief article)
September 27, 2006... Chisso and Asahi Kasei have agreed to merge their respective fertilizer production and R&D operations into an existing fertilizer marketing joint venture between the companies, effective January 1, 2007. The marketing iv, Chisso Asahi...

DIMOSIL new generation fillers facing new tendencies on the tire tread fillers market.(Dimona Silica Industries ltd )
September 27, 2006... Dimona Silica Industries ltd (DSI) is a new manufacturer on the market of precipitated silica and calcium carbonate fillers. The company has announced introduction of a complete product line for tire application to the market of specialty...

Shanghai Huayi seeks investors for massive development program.(new construction projects)(Brief article)
September 27, 2006... Shanghai Huayi Group is seeking foreign partners for an investment program totalling close to $2 billion, chairman Zhang Pet Zhang says. The program coincides with a restructuring by Huayi that includes job cuts, closure of old plants,...

Invista plans nylon-6,6 complex in China.(Brief article)
September 27, 2006... Invista says it is at an advanced stage of site selection to build a world-scale, nylon-6,6 complex in Asia, and that it has a strong preference for China. The company will build plants producing adiponitrile (ADN), hexamethylene diamine...

Shin-Etsu to expand silicon wafer plants.(Brief article)
September 27, 2006... Sin-Etsu Chemical says it will spend [yen] 120 billion ($1 billion) to boost capacity for 300-millimeter (mm) silicon wafers at several locations. The company will add a combined 300,000 wafers/month capacity, which will raise the group's...

Stone & Webster bags China olefins contract.(Brief article)
September 27, 2006... Stone & Webster says it has been selected by China National BlueStar Group (Beijing) to provide technology and engineering services for an olefins-recovery facility planned by BlueStar's Shenyang Paraffin-Wax Chemical Co. subsidiary at...

Aker Kvaerner awarded big PTA plant in China.(JiaLong Petrochemical Fiber Co.)(purified terephthalic acid)(Brief article)
September 27, 2006... Aker Kvaerner says it has been awarded a contract by JiaLong Petrochemical Fiber Co. to provide basic engineering design and technical advisory services for a 600,000-m.t./year purified terephthalic acid (PTA) plant to be built at ShiShi,...

Toyo bags fourth DME contract in China.(dimethyl ether)(Shanxi Lanhua Clean Energy Co.)(Brief article)
September 27, 2006... Toyo Engineering says it has secured its fourth dimethyl ether (DME) plant construction contract in China. The most recently announced plant will have capacity for 420 m.t./day of DME based on coal feedstock. It will be built for Shanxi...

Foster wheeler lands design contract in Russia ...(new construction projects)(Brief article)
September 27, 2006... Foster Wheeler says it has been awarded the front-end engineering design contract by Nizhnekamsk Refinery, part of Tatneft (Almetyevsk, Russia), for a previously announced refining and petrochemical complex at Nizhnekamsk, Russia (CW, Aug....

... And Lucite's Alpha MMA plant in Singapore.(new construction projects)(Brief article)
September 27, 2006... Foster Wheeler says it has been awarded an engineering, procurement, and construction contract by Lucite International for a previously announced 120,000-m.t./year methyl methacrylate (MMA) plant at Jurong Island, Singapore. The plant will...

Clariant builds glyoxylic acid plant in China.(new construction projects)(Brief article)
September 27, 2006... Clariant says it has begun engineering work to build a 12,000-m.t./year glyoxylic acid plant at Zhenjiang, China. The unit will use a newly developed proprietary technology, and is due onstream in mid-2008.

Russia: unleashing huge potential.(chemical industry)(Cover story)(Statistical data)
September 27, 2006... Russia is begnning to appear on Western companies' radar screens as a potential base for large-scale petrochemical investment. Recent reports that several multinationals are considering projects there could herald an upsurge in the fortunes...

Aiming high in petrochemicals: energy firms seek to become major players.(country focus: India)
September 27, 2006... India's chemical sector is growing at double-digit rates, and companies are positioning themselves to capture a large share of that growth, particularly in polymers. "At an annual growth rate of 14%, twice that of GDP, plastics consumption in...

A leading exporter of fine chemicals.(country focus: India)
September 27, 2006... Exports of fine and specialty chemicals from India have registered a significant rise in the last few years and the trend will continue, experts say. India's fine and specialty chemical industry has sales of about $5 billion/year, and the...

Indian firms seek acquisitions: overseas expansion is likely to accelerate.(pharmaceuticals & fine chemicals)
September 27, 2006... International mergers and acquisitions (M&A) by Indian producers of pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical intermediates have been a feature of the pharma and fine chemical industry for almost 10 years. The trend began with Sun Pharma's (Mumbai)...

Specialization pays Off at Almac Sciences.(STRATEGIES)
September 27, 2006... Privately owned contract manufacturer Almac Sciences (Craigavon, U.K.), until recently named CSS, will record a 20% increase in sales for the fiscal year ending September 30, up from sales growth of 25% in the previous year, Denis Geffroy,...

Antisoma Research outsources MOAB.(pharmaceuticals & fine chemicals)(CMC Biopharma, monoclonal antibodies )(Brief article)
September 27, 2006... Antisoma Research (London), a biopharmaceutical start-up company, will outsoutce the manufacture and process development of its lead drug candidate to contract manufacturer CMC Biopharma (Copenhagen), according to Simon Roe, manufacturing...

Pfizer to offload two plants.(pharmaceuticals & fine chemicals)(Brief article)
September 27, 2006... Pfizer says it will divest its manufacturing plant at Arnprior, ON and close its plant at Lee's Summit, MI as part of a previously announced global cost-cutting program. The company produces a range of prescription and over-the-counter drugs...

EMEA approves first pharmed drug.(European Medicines Evaluation Agency)(Brief article)
September 27, 2006... The European Medicines Agency (EMEA; Brussels) has for the first time approved use of a drug derived from transgenic animals, a process known as pharming. The drug, ATryn, has been developed by GTC Biotherapeutics (Framingham, MA) to prevent...

Danisco to restructure ingredients business.(COMPANIES)(Statistical data)
September 27, 2006... Danisco says it will restructure its DK13.3-billion ($2.26-billion) ingredients business to raise the Ebit margin from that business to 15% this year, from 12.4% last year. Danisco says it will reduce the number of product divisions within...

Clariant and Songwon end antioxidant JV.(Songwon Industrial Co. Ltd.)(Brief article)
September 27, 2006... Clariant International and Songwon Industrial Co. Ltd. (Ulsan, Korea) say they have agreed to end their cooperation in antioxidants as of January 31, 2008. Clariant says it will continue to distribute 1010-, 1076-, and 168-type antioxidants...

Lubrizol to sell fuel additives unit in the U.K.(DIGEST)(Brief article)
September 27, 2006... Lubrizol says it has entered an agreement to sell its 47-acre Bromborough, U.K. manufacturing site to biodiesel producer D1 Oils (Middlesbrough, U.K.), for 3 million [pounds serling] ($5.7 million). The facility produces fuel additives,...

Sun to buy design firms.(Sun Chemical acquired Watt Gilchrist and Parker Williams Design)(Brief article)
September 27, 2006... Sun Chemical says it has agreed to buy Watt Gilchrist (Leeds, U.K), and Parker Williams Design (London), subsidiaries of Envoy Communications Group (Toronto), for C$27 million ($24 million). Watt Gilchrist produces graphics for the retail...

Chase buys sealants business.(Capital Services Joint Systems )(Brief article)
September 27, 2006... Chase (Bridgewater, MA), a producer of anti-corrosion coatings, says it has acquired Capital Services Joint Systems (Schenectady, NY), a manufacturer of waterproofing sealants, expansion joints, and accessories for the transportation,...

Distribution updates.(Rohm and Haas chose Chemcentral to distribute its emulsion products)(Brief article)
September 27, 2006... Rohm and Haas's North American Architectural and Functional Coatings business says it chosen Chemcentral to distribute emulsion products in the U.S., effective January 2007 * Air Products says it has named Dow Chemical as exclusive...

Air products to hike bulk gases.(basic chemicals & plastics)(Brief article)
September 27, 2006... Air Products says that it will increase schedule pricing on liquid-bulk hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen by 10%, and argon and helium by 20%, for merchant and government customers in North America, effective October 1 or as contracts permit....

Ticona declares force majeure on PE.(basic chemicals & plastics)(polyethylene)(Brief article)
September 27, 2006... Celanese's Ticona says it has declared force majeure on its GUR brand ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene products manufactured at its Oberhausen, Germany plant. Ticona cites "an outside supplier's inability to supply full rates of...

GE Plastics launches powder coatings.(basic chemicals & plastics)(Brief article)
September 27, 2006... GF Plastics says it has introduced a family of conductive Noryl GTX brand resins, based on a blend of nylon and polyphenylene ether (PPE), that are optimized for powder coating applications. GE says the materials contain conductive fillers...

Dow hikes prices.(basic chemicals & plastics)(Dow Chemical)(Brief article)
September 27, 2006... UCAR Emulsion Systems, a business unit of Dow Chemical, says it will hike prices of UCAR vinyl acrylic and NEOCAR latex products by 3 cts/wet lb in North America. UCAR cites "ongoing escalation in all costs related to the manufacture of these...

European spot Benzene soars.(AROMATICS)(Brief article)
September 27, 2006... European spot benzene prices spiked by at least $200/m.t. according to market sources. Traders say that September material saw deals done at $1,050/m.t. and discussed as high as $1,075/m.t. fob, NWE. Strong demand from the U.S. was cited as a...

EG sellers, buyers fall out.(ethylene glycol)(Brief article)
September 27, 2006... Drops in Asian spot ethylene glycol (EG) prices are causing a rift in the market. September EG contract prices in Asia were marginally higher than August, and producers in the region have issued October nominations that range from a roll over...

Commentary.(cw price report)(chemical prices)(Statistical data)
September 27, 2006... Global ethylene markets remain tight as a result of a rash of steam-cracker outages. U.S. Gulf Coast spot prices rose another 6 cts/lb last week on top of increases earlier in the month. European spot prices rose about $60/m.t., but market...

Sierra Club sues EPA to force perc phaseout.(Environmental Protection Agency, perchloroethylene)
September 27, 2006... The Sierra Club (Washington) filed a lawsuit against EPA last week for its decision to allow most dry cleaners to continue using the solvent perchloroethylene (perc). The Sierra Club says the agency could easily require that dry cleaners,...

IG cites poor progress on EPA environmental justice.(regulatory)(Environmental Protection Agency)(Brief article)
September 27, 2006... EPA's Inspector General (IG) says the agency has not been conducting review's of its programs' impact on environmental justice, as directed by a 1994 Executive Order requiring the agency to evaluate whether its policies and regulations result...

WHO urges expanded indoor spraying of DDT.(PESTICIDES)(Brief article)
September 27, 2006... The World Health Organization (WHO; Geneva) recommends that more areas in developing countries use indoor spraying of DDT to combat malaria. WHO recommends "indoor residual spraying, not only in epidemic areas, but also in areas with constant...

CW75 index.(CW75 stock performance)(Statistical data)
September 27, 2006... The CW75 Index rose 1.4% for the week ending September 20, helped by falling feedstock costs, analysts say. Basic chemical shares rose 1.8%; diversified chemical stocks, 1%; and specialty chemical shares, 1.6%. The CW75 slightly outpaced...

Leading indicator.(key changes)(chemical industry)(Statistical data)
September 27, 2006... The leading indicator for the chemical industry fell 0.2% in September, the second consecutive monthly drop. Output in the chemical process industries, an important determinant of chemical output, has also dropped for the past two months,...

Eastman.(appointment of Joost Berting, Erwin Dijkman and Rene Smit,)(Brief article)
September 27, 2006... EASTMAN has made appointments, including three general managers in the Europe, Mideast, and Africa regions: Joost Berting, as general manager/performance chemical and intermediates; Erwin Dijkman, as general manager/adhesives; and Rene Smit,...

International Specialty Products.(key changes)
September 27, 2006... INTERNATIONAL SPECIALTY PRODUCTS has appointed Darrell Christopher key account manager/ Midwest. Christopher was most recently' North American sales manager at Inchem.

Sartomer.(key changes)
September 27, 2006... SARTOMER has named Edward J. Ogle manager/metallic monomer operations. Thecompany has also appointed Brian Kendall plant manager at Sartomer's Chatom, AL facility.

Socma.(appointment of Morgan Seuberling )(Brief article)
September 27, 2006... SOCMA has appointed Morgan Seuberling manager/performance improvement. Seuberling was previously environmental health and safety manager at Covalence Specialty Coatings. Socma has also named Suzanne Hartigan manager/business development for...

Wacker Chemical.(key changes)
September 27, 2006... WACKER CHEMICAL has named Bernhard Hackl v.p./performance materials for its Wacker Silicones business. Hackl was formerly director/supply chain management, elastomers for Wacker Silicones.

Valspar.(key changes)
September 27, 2006... VALSPAR has named Joseph Donahue group v.p./global wood coatings, North America.

Church & Dwight.(key changes)
September 27, 2006... CHURCH & DWIGHT has appointed Matthew Farrell v.p./finance and CFO. Farrell replaces Zvi Eiref, who is retiring.

Meetings.(Calendar)
September 27, 2006... Americas October 4-5 WASHINGTON Socma's cGMP Compliance Conference for Pharmaceutical Ingredient Suppliers. Tel: 202 721 4100; Fax: 202 296 8120. www.socma.com October 23 HOUSTON CW's Third Annual Monetizing Natural Gas:...

China's growing pains.(viewpoint)(investment possibilities in chemical industry)
September 20, 2006... It's hard to argue against the logic for participating in China's chemical sector. Rapid economic growth, a burgeoning manufacturing industry, and a continued import deficit for most chemicals mean there are a multitude of growth...

BP and Gazprom announce LNG deal.(Liquefied Natural Gas)(British Petroleum)(Brief article)
September 20, 2006... BP and Gazprom Marketing Trading, the U.K. subsidiary of Russian energy giant Gazprom, says they have had reached an agreement for BP to supply several liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes that Gazprom will market in the Atlantic Basin. The...

Tessenderlo to restructure chlorine.(reorganisation of chlorine derivatives business)(Brief article)
September 20, 2006... Tessenderlo Group (Brussels) says it is planning to restructure its chlorine derivatives business, part of the company's fine chemical business unit, with the loss of 134 jobs in Europe. The company cites "a rapid commoditization and...