Nitrogen & Methanol articles from March 2000

Nitrogen & Methanol archives from March 2000

You read it here first[ldots}.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2000... Three years ago, I wrote an editorial which promised that within a few years, companies would be as concerned about their social responsibilities as they are now about their financial and environmental ones ("Ethical Investment -- Passing Fad...

PRICE TRENDS.(Urea, ammonia, methanol)(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2000... AMMONIA Outages push up ammonia prices Ammonia prices jumped in January and February on the back of plant closures and more buying, esepcially in India. Outages in the Ukraine, especially Gorlovka, where one plant was down for over...

Agrium buys Unocal's fertilizer interests.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2000... Agrium has agreed to buy the nitrogen-based production and distribution businesses of the Union Oil Company of California (Unocal). Agrium is paying $325m for the businesses, which include $73m of net working capital, in a mixture of shares,...

BHP still looking for urea partner.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2000... Following the break-up of its partnership with Orica subsidiary Incitec, BHP is still looking for a joint venture partner with whom to build an ammonia-urea complex at Geelong, Victoria. The company has reconfirmed that it remains committed to...

Outback MAP/DAP plans.(Westfarmers CSBP and Anaconda Nickel Ltd.)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2000... Greater demand for ammonia may be created in Western Australia by the construction of a new ammonium phosphate facility. Westfarmers CSBP and Anaconda Nickel Ltd are hoping to develop a 260m tonne phosphate rock deposit at Mt Weld in the remote...

Uhde to build new large-scale nitric acid plant.(Kruppe Uhde contract with Bayer AG)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2000... Bayer AG has awarded Krupp Uhde the contract to build a new 500,000 t/a nitric acid plant for EC Erd[ddot{o}]lchemie GmbH in Cologne Worringen. The contract covers engineering, materials procurement, construction, supervision and commissioning....

New fertilizer policy under consideration.(India)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2000... A draft fertilizer policy for consultation is anticipated very soon, according to Fertilizer and Chemicals Minister Suresh Prabhu. The government is looking for a longterm solution to the problem of urea subsidies without causing damage to...

Linde buyout of AGA agreed by EU.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2000... German industrial gases company Linde has been given a green light for its takeover of Sweden's AGA, although it has had to drop plans to also acquire Messer Griesheim GmbH on advice from European competition authorities. Linde's net profits...

Safco back in the black[ldots].(Saudi Arabian Fertilizer Company)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2000... The Saudi Arabian Fertilizer Company (Safco) posted profits of Riyal 1.4m ($373,000) for 1999, following good results for the final quarter. Profits of Riyal 24.5m ($6.5m) for 4Q 1999 offset losses sustained during the first three quarters due...

[ldots]but MissChem profits are down.(Mississippi Chemical Corp.)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2000... Mississippi Chemicals reported a $10m loss for the financial quarter ending December 31st, down from a loss of $0.49m for the same period of 1998. President and CEO Charles Dunn blamed high gas costs and low ammonia prices for the results, but...

More urea for Vietnam.(production increase)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2000... As well as the Phu My / Cam Au projects proposed for southern Vietnam(right), a debottleneck of the existing 100,000 t/a coal-fired Hanichemco plant in the north of the country is also underway. The plant's capacity will be increased to 400,000...

Urea project may be moved.(PetroVietnam)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2000... Frustration at the continuing delays to the Phu My fertilizer project is not confined to western investors, it seems. State petrochemicals company PetroVietnam is about to submit a feasibility study which proposes moving the site of the planned...

Baria handles first Panamax.(Baria Serece port in Vietnam)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2000... The first Panamax vessel has arrived at the newly refurbished port facility at Baria Serece in Vung Tau province, 70km from Ho Chi Minh City. Norsk Hydro, along with SCPA of France and several local companies, have expanded the container port...

Hydro in joint venture with AECI.(Norsk Hydro, AECI form Kynoch Fertilizers)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2000... Norsk Hydro has agreed with South African chemicals company AECI to produce and sell fertilizer in South Africa on a joint venture basis. The joint venture will incorporate Kynoch Fertilizers, which has 40% of South Africa's 2.Om t/a fertilizer...

Hydro Agri announces major losses.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2000... Norsk Hydro's agricultural division lost NKr 2.0bn ($243m) in 1999, according to company figures. This includes costs of NKr 849m ($103m) relating to workforce reductions and losses on contracts. A write down of 1.0m t/a of nitrogen capacity...

Urea production to restart.(in Mexico)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2000... Mexico is anticipating restarting its idled ammonia and urea production facilities in March, following an agreement on feedstock supply arrangements. The agreement includes a new gas price deal and a formula linking ammonia prices to...

Obituary [sim] Klaus Weiherich.(president of BCT Chemtrade)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2000... The industry lost a good friend all too soon with the death in February of Klaus Weiherich, President of BCT Chemtrade. He is warmly remembered by many at British Sulphur, just as he was known and admired by his many colleagues and friends in...

Methanex to join Sweetwater project.(Syntroleum project)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2000... Methanex has signed a letter of intent to participate in Syntroleum's Sweetwater gas to liquids (GTL) project as a minority partner. The move is part of Methanex's new strategy to diversify its interests in view of the poor market for methanol....

Rentech to convert Sand Creek methanol plant to GTL.(gas to liquids technology)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2000... Rentech, a developer of gas to liquids (GTL) technology based in Denver, has agreed to buy Sand Creek Chemicals' 100,000 t/a methanol plant at Commerce City, Colorado. The new ownership structure will be an equal split between Rentech and RFC...

[CO.sub.2] to methanol bioconversion.(Southern Illinois University)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2000... Work is progressing at the Southern Illinois University into bioproduction of methanol, via enzymatic conversion of carbon dioxide. The enzymes are held in micropores in a waterborne silica sol-gel, through which [CO.sub.2] is passed, first...

BP Amoco joins Alaska LNG project.(liquefied natural gas)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2000... BP Amoco has joined Arco, Phillips Petroleum, and Marubeni in the Alaska North Slope LNG project, which aims to develop extensive gas deposits on Alaska's northern shore. At present the project envisages that the gas -- up to 7m t/a -- would...

LNG export plans to be revived?(liquid natural gas project by Petroquimicos de Venezuela SA)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2000... As part of president Hugo Chavez's new initiative in the area of gas and petroleum production, there has been talk of reviving the Christobal Colon LNG project, in abeyance since December 1996 due to unattractive economics and the success of...

Camisea also back on track?(plans for development)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2000... As the oil and gas industry enjoys renewed high oil prices, another development project that looked dead and buried has seemingly sparked into life again. The $3bn development of Peru's giant Camisea oil and gas field, which looked fatally...

Methanex writes down Kitimat.(charge off due to sale of plant)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2000... Methanex has taken a $55m charge to its accounts over the sale of its 500,000 t/a methanol plant at Kitimat, British Columbia. However, the sale to Acetex, for just $1, has yet to be formally arranged in spite of the decision being announced...

Significant losses in 1999 for Kvaerner.(Kvaerner Engineering)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2000... Anglo-Norwegian engineering and construction group Kvaerner has reported operating profits before exceptional items of NKr l8m ($2.2m) for 1999. However, restructuring costs of NKr 4.7bn ($574m) pushed the overall figures deeply into the red....

Gasunie to review gas price clause.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2000... Dutch gas producer Gasunie is to review prices it charges for gas supplied to the ammonia sector in view of high prevailing oil prices and low ammonia prices. A new tariff to replace the old 'F' system, which links gas to the price of oil, has...

MTBE still on the retreat.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2000... Eight northeastern states of the USA have urged Congress to remove the 2% reformulated gasoline oxygen mandate to allow them to replace MTBE with other compounds. California, which has special status under the Clean Air Act, has already...

Cancellation looms for MTBE plant.(Alujain's plant in Saudi Arabia)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2000... The $400m, 900,000 t/a Alujain MTBE plant is moving closer towards cancellation. As reported last year (Nitrogen & Methanol 240, Jul/Aug 1999, p11), work at the Yanbu site had been 'frozen' in the wake of the decision by California to phase out...

Bids to be invited for new LNG project.(liquified natural gas terminal in China)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2000... Following approval by the Chinese cabinet for an LNG import terminal in the southern province of Guangdong, near the boom city of Shenzen (see previous issue), bids are to be invited from February to build the new facility. The 2.5m t/a...

PIC invites tenders for methanol project.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2000... Kuwait's Petrochemicals Industries Co (PIC) has invited six companies to tender for the engineering, procurement and construction contract for conversion of an idled ammonia plant to methanol production. Last year, German engineering firm Lurgi...

LNG plans advancing.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2000... Hot on the heels of Venezuela's decision to resurrect its Christobal Colon LNG export project, Royal Dutch/Shell and Brazil's state oil company Petrobras are moving forward on one of the likely receiving stations. The two companies have formed...

People.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2000... Mississippi Chemicals has elected Reuben Anderson to its board of directors, increasing the size of the board to 13. Mr Anderson is a partner in a Jackson, Mississippi law firm, and has served as a justice on the Mississippi Supreme Court. ...

Non-fertilizer uses of ammonia.
March 1, 2000... Although demand for ammonia is predominantly based around nitrogen as a plant nutrient, it is also an important and versatile industrial chemical. Nitrogen & Methanol looks at the various uses to which it is put, and the prospects for future...

Nitrogen project listing 2000.(Illustration)
March 1, 2000... Nitrogen project listing 2000 Contractor Licensor Company ARGENTINA Snamprogetti Haldor Topsoe Profertil Snamprogetti Snamprogetti/Norsk Hydra Profertil...

A visit to Tjelbergodden.(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2000... Nitrogen & Methanol visited Europe's newest methanol plant, and one of the new breed of 'remote' facilities designed to utilise associated gas from oil production in order to avoid flaring. Tjelbergodden is Europe's newest and largest...

Methanol supertanker completes maiden voyage.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2000... On February 17th, the Millennium Explorer completed its maiden commercial voyage -- from the Methanex plants at Punta Arenas on the southern tip of Chile to the Vopak terminal at Rotterdam Europoort in Holland. The crossing was significant...

The chemical bearings of the ammonia process.
March 1, 2000... Catalysts have to be designed as carefully as any piece of equipment in an ammonia plant. In spite of the excellent quality of today's commercial catalysts, the developers are on a constant quest for improvement. Five out of the six main...

Violence threatens new urea plant.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2000... Pupuk Iskander Muda's new ammonia-urea complex at Lhokseumawe in Aceh province is under threat because of the escalating violence in the region. The PIM-2 project, which is to include a 396,000 t/a ammonia and 570,000 t/a urea plant, may be...

Pre-emptive action against MTBE leaks.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2000... Denmark is to spend $130m on making sure that there are no leaks of MTBE from gasoline stations within the country. In California, MTBE leaking from old gasoline stations has found its way its groundwater, leading to a state-wide phase-out. The...