Nitrogen & Methanol articles from November 2001

Nitrogen & Methanol archives from November 2001

The spectre of terrorism.(effect on industry)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2001... It would be difficult to begin this editorial without mentioning the tragic events of September 11th in New York and Washington. Since then the world has been on tenterhooks waiting for a military response from the United States and its allies....

PRICE TRENDS.(Statistical Data Included)
November 1, 2001... AMMONIA Prices flatten out at lower levels Ammonia availability remained high worldwide at the start of August, and prices slumped across the board. Anticipated cutbacks in Russia and the Ukraine did not materialise, and US natural gas...

World waits on US response (UNITED STATES).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
November 1, 2001... The fertilizer market is watching anxiously to see what the fallout from the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington will be. Trading was very quiet in the immediate aftermath as buyers and producers waited to see what would happen, but...

ITC confirms interim AN ruling (UNITED STATES).(International Trade Commission, ammonia)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2001... The US International Trade Commission (ITC) confirmed on August 22nd that imports of Ukrainian ammonium nitrate had materially injured the domestic AN industry. In July a dumping margin of 156.29% was imposed on Ukrainian AN. The move was...

AN explosion leaves 29 dead (FRANCE).(Brief Article)
November 1, 2001... On September [21.sup.st] a catastrophic ammonium nitrate detonation devastated Grande Paroisse's Toulouse plant, killing 29 people and injuring more than one thousand. France's worst post-war industrial accident was apparently caused by the...

Camisea consortium considering urea (PERU).(Brief Article)
November 1, 2001... The consortium developing the giant Camisea natural gas field in Peru, where estimated reserves total 36Obcm, is said to be considering downstream options including urea and ethanol production. Development of the field is in the hands of a...

Omifco closure now set for December (OMAN-INDIA).(Oman-India Fertilizer Co.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
November 1, 2001... Financial closure of the troubled Oman-India Fertilizer Company (Omifco) has been postponed yet again, this time to December 2001. The $1,000m joint venture, between Indian partners Krishak Bharati Cooperative (Kribhco) and the Indian Farmers...

Ammonia unit closes.(Schwert-Oder plant)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2001... Schwert-Oder closed its 170,000 t/a ammonia plant on 15th August, and ceased all other fertilizer production, including 300,000 t/a of CAN on September 30th.

PIM construction to restart next year.(Pupak Iskander Muda)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2001... Construction is expected to resume on Pupuk Iskander Muda's (PIM) second ammonia-urea train in January 2002. Work at the site in Lhokseumawe in Aceh province had been delayed by unrest and concomitant security concerns. Contractors Toyo and...

Gazprom moves in on Hungarian nitrogen sector.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2001... Gazprom has increased its shareholding in Hungarian chemical and nitrogenous fertilizer producer Tisza Vegyi Kombinat Rt (TVK) via an affiliated company, GE Oil and Gas of Austria. Gazprom is now believed to own 40.5% of TVK. The Hungarian...

Hydro Agri sees fall in operating income.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
November 1, 2001... Hydro Agri reported 2Q results of NKr 270m for operating income, roughly half the figure for the previous year of NKr 509m. First half results of NKr 1,189m were still stronger, however, due to the high ammonia prices that prevailed in the...

MissChem loses $23m to end June.(Mississippi Chemical Corp.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
November 1, 2001... Mississippi Chemicals reported losses of $23m for the year ending June 30th 2001 in spite of an increase in sales of 11%. High natural gas prices were blamed for the bulk of the losses: the company lost $18.5m alone from plant shutdown costs.

Tenders invited for urea plant (IRAN).(Brief Article)
November 1, 2001... The Kermanshah Petrochemicals Industries Co (KPI) has invited bidders for the construction of its proposed 660,000 t/a ammonia-urea plant at Kermanshah in northwest Iran. The plant will be the first privately owned fertilizer facility in Iran....

At last - a deal on WTO membership (CHINA).(World Trade Organization)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2001... The World Trade Organisation (WTO) formally approved China's accession package on September 17th, ending 15 years of sometimes tortuous negotiations. China said that it would immediately set in train domestic legislative approval, meaning that...

Fertilizer sector to be privatised (UZBEKISTAN).(Brief Article)
November 1, 2001... The Ukrainian government has unveiled plans to partially privatise the country's fertilizer production sector over the next five years. Stakes of between 45--49% will be available in: P0 Azot Fergana, Navoi Azot, and Chirchik Production...

Orica on cost-cutting drive (AUSTRALIA).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
November 1, 2001... In the wake of poor results which have seen CEO and managing director Philip Wieckhard resign, Australian AN manufacturer Orica has said that it must reduce its fixed costs. In the financial year to March 2001 Orica lost A$12m, although the...

Plenty River to expand planned urea facility? (AUSTRALIA).(Brief Article)
November 1, 2001... The Plenty River Corporation, which is aiming to build an ammonia-urea facility on the Burrupp Peninsula in Western Australia, is reportedly considering increasing the size of the project from the currently envisaged 660,000 t/a of urea to...

Synetix in laboratory partnership (UNITED KINGDOM).(Brief Article)
November 1, 2001... Catalyst manufacturer Synetix has teamed up with the University of Glasgow to create a new laboratory dedicated to advances in catalyst manufacture. This is the first time Synetix, a member of the ICI Group, has linked up with a university to...

PQM expands nylon, AS output (SPAIN).(Productos Quimicos del Mediterraneo)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2001... Spanish chemical producer Productos Quimicos de Mediterraneo is to expand caprolactam output as part of its nylon production, which will lead to a 25% increase in ammonium sulphate (AS) by-production. AS output will rise from 320,000 t/a to...

Krupp Uhde completes nitric acid plant (GERMANY).(Brief Article)
November 1, 2001... September saw the start-up of a new 80,000 t/a 65% nitric acid plant for Radici Chimica Deutschland at Troglitz/Saxony-Anhalt. Radici is a subsidiary of the Italian Radici Group and one of Europe's largest private producers of yarn and raw...

Pull-outs threaten methanol, urea developments (AUSTRALIA).(Brief Article)
November 1, 2001... US-based Philips Petroleum has announced its withdrawal from the development proposals for gas fields in the Timor Sea, in a row over tax incentives. The UN, which is running the temporary East Timor administration, said that previous...

Ammonia to hydrogen proposal (NETHERLANDS).(Brief Article)
November 1, 2001... A US-Dutch consortium calling itself Proton Chemie has apparently approached Kemira with a proposal for buying the company's idled 600,000 t/a ammonia plant at Pernis, near Rotterdam and converting it into a hydrogen plant to supply the major...

Ethanol industry gearing up (UNITED STATES).(Brief Article)
November 1, 2001... Amid continuing uncertainty over the future of MTBE, US ethanol producers are gearing up production in anticipation of the 2003 California phase-out. Some 190m gal/year of ethanol production is currently under construction, roughly double what...

Linde building new [H.sub.2] plant at Leuna (GERMANY).(Brief Article)
November 1, 2001... German industrial gases company Linde is involved in an E4Om expansion in the Leuna-Bohlen-Bitterfeld 'chemical triangle' in eastern Germany. Due to continuing high demand in this region, Linde is currently building its fourth hydrogen plant in...

Methanex buys Beacon stake in Atlas (TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
November 1, 2001... Methanex has acquired the Beacon Group Energy Investment Fund's stake in the massive 1.7m t/a Atlas Methanol project. The agreement also grants Methanex an option, which expires on December 31, 2003, to acquire Beacon's 75% stake in the...

"Green Methanol" technology company seeks strategic partner (CANADA).(Technology Convergence Inc.)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2001... Canadian technology company Technology Convergence Inc (TCI) has announced the release of a new, patented process for making methanol, which it calls 'Green Methanol' [TM]. The process is designed with a future of fuel cells and carbon credits...

Togliatti building second methanol plant (RUSSIA).(Brief Article)
November 1, 2001... Togliatti Azot has begun construction work on the company's second methanol plant, which will have a capacity of 500,000 t/a. The $150m plant is to be developed at the company's Togliatti site on the river Volga, where 400,000 t/a of methanol,...

BP to build DME plant (MIDDLE EAST).(Brief Article)
November 1, 2001... BP is currently looking for a location to build a new 1.8m t/a methanol/dimethyl ether (DME) plant, to export the chemical onwards to India for use in power generation. DME is considered to be a cleaner fuel than LNG and can also be used in...

SIPC uprates methanol proposal (SAUDI ARABIA).(Saudi International Petrochemical Co.)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2001... The Saudi International Petrochemical Co (SIPC) proposal for an 850,000 t/a methanol plant at Al Jubail has been uprated to a 1.0m t/a unit. It will form part of a complex which is projected to include a 50,000 t/a butanediol plant, a 275,000...

GTL plant gets go-ahead (QATAR).(gas-to-liquids)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2001... Qatar Petroleum has signed an estimated $800m joint venture agreement with Sasol to build a 34,000 bbl/day gas to liquids (GTL) plant at Ras Laffan fed from the massive North Field gas development. The facility will use Sasol's slurry phase...

Another GTL plant under consideration (BOLIVIA).(gas-to-liquids)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2001... Bolivia could be on the verge of significant developments in gas-based petrochemicals. Over the past couple of years, proved and potential gas reserves in the country have more than quadrupled, and a variety of schemes are now doing the rounds....

Debottleneck for methanol plant (CHINA).(Brief Article)
November 1, 2001... The Shaanxi Yulin Natural Gas Chemical Industrial Co has begun a debottleneck of its 120,000 t/a methanol plant at Yulin. The $6.3m revamp, being conducted by local contractors China Chengda Engineering and China Huatai Engineering, will bring...

People.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2001... Fedcominvest has appointed Dariusz Szczepankowski as vice president with responsibility for procurement and market development. He will be based in the company's Monaco headquarters. Szczepankowski was previously with Norsk Hydro. Hydro...

Biomethanol - still a pipe dream?
November 1, 2001... Although natural gas remains the feedstock for almost all of the world's methanol production, and coal the rest, environmental concerns are driving a push towards so-called 'biomethanol' - methanol produced from renewable or waste materials....

Methanol project listing 2001.
November 1, 2001... Methanol project listing 2001 Contractor Licensor Company ARGENTINA Lurgi/Techint Lurgi Oel Gas Chemie Repsol YPF AUSTRALIA n.a. n.a. Methanex/Shell...

Mega-methanol and what to use it for.
November 1, 2001... Two 5,000-t/d methanol projects are in progress at the moment, and the technology needs only a little fine tuning to be capable of double that capacity - when the market is ready for it. Here Sascha Streb of Lurgi describes his company's...

Chemicals from methanol.
November 1, 2001... Aside from its direct or (after processing) indirect use as a fuel, methanol is also used in manufacturing various chemicals and intermediates. We look at its conversion to two of the most important -- formaldehyde and acetic acid. Fuel...