Petrochemicals
Reliance raises $2bn loan for India petrochemical expansion projects
Reliance Industries has signed a $2 billion-equivalent loan with nine banks covered by German credit insurance provider Euler Hermes. This deal will help diversify the company’s funding sources and extends the maturity profile of its long term debt in a cost-effective manner, Reliance said.
Westlake Chemical restarts VCM plant in Louisiana following March fire
Westlake Chemical said Wednesday that the vinyl chloride monomer unit at its complex in Geismar, Louisiana, has been safely repaired and restarted. The company added that it is working with customers and suppliers to mitigate the impact of the outage and to meet their needs.
HB Fuller to sell Latin American paints business
H.B. Fuller has signed an agreement to sell its Central American paints business to Colombia's Pintuco, a company of Grupo Mundial. "Our strategic vision is to be the best adhesives company in the world, and the paints business is not, therefore, core to our strategic plan," said CEO Jim Owens.
Evonik selects Jacobs for engineering work on new polyamide 12 plant in Asia
Jacobs Engineering Group was awarded a contract from Germany's Evonik to provide basic engineering services for a grassroots polyamide 12 production facility in Asia. Jacobs says it has been working closely with Evonik's project team in to develop the conceptual design for the new plant.
Eastman finishes retrofit, startup of newly-acquired plasticizer plant in Texas
Eastman Chemical has completed the retrofit and startup of its non-phthalate plasticizer manufacturing facility in Texas City, Texas. Eastman, which purchased the former Sterling Chemicals plant in mid-2011, said further capacity additions were possible with minimal investment.
BASF to build formic acid plant at Louisiana facility
BASF announced Friday that it will build a new production plant for formic acid at its integrated Verbund site in Geismar, Louisiana. The new 50,000 tpy plant is expected to start up in the second quarter of 2014. Investment terms for the project were not disclosed.
Westlake Chemical withdraws bid for Georgia Gulf
Westlake Chemical said Friday that it is withdrawing its proposal to acquire US vinyls and aromatics company Georgia Gulf after failing to strike an agreeable deal. Westlake told Georgia Gulf that it does not intend to continue to pursue a deal. The proposal was first made in January.
Eastman picks Shaw for technology, engineering on Texas ethylene furnace
The Shaw Group was awarded a contract to provide proprietary technology and engineering services for a new ultra-selective conversion (USC) furnace for Eastman Chemical’s ethylene plant in Longview, Texas. A Shaw official attributed the rise in US business activity to recent developments in shale gas.
Reliance taps Fluor for project management in India on downstream expansions
Reliance Industries has selected Fluor to perform project management services for projects being executed at its world-scale Jamnagar refining and petrochemical complex on the west coast of India in Gujarat. The proposed coke gasification facility is among the largest-such projects ever built.
BASF acquires Brazil polyamide polymer business
BASF on Thursday struck a deal to buy the polyamide (PA) polymer business of Mazzaferro Group in Brazil. The deal includes the site and production facilities for the PA 6 product range, as well as engineering plastics compounds at São Bernardo do Campo in the metropolitan area of São Paulo.
- BASF supports European 1,4‑butanediol supply security through increased production in Ludwigshafen 2/16
- Vitol backs proposed $3-billion LNG power plant for South Africa's Durban port 2/16
- HAMR Energy receives additional funding for low-carbon liquid fuels projects 2/16
- NASCAR names POET official bioethanol partner: Becomes first major motorsports series to utilize zero-carbon bioethanol 2/16
- ExxonMobil starts third advanced plastics recycling unit at Baytown complex 2/16
- Geoinform, subsidiary of the MOL Group, signs strategic cooperation agreement with Baker Hughes 2/16
