Americas
NOVA to expand Ontario ethylene cracker by 20%
The expansion will occur between 2014 and 2018, according to the company. It will be part of a wave of expansions and upgrades to NOVA's existing facilities in the region of Sarnia, Ontario.
Braskem buys Solvay vinyls unit in South America
Braskem says the acquisition confirms its commitment to develop the petrochemical and plastics industries in Brazil and South America by strengthening the vinyls chain and by its decision to continue investing to support the growth of its clients. It also establishes an industrial base in Argentina.
BP commissions new coker at Whiting refinery
The start-up of the new 102,000 bpd coker marks the last major milestone of BP's multi-year, multi-billion dollar modernization project at the refinery in Northwest Indiana.
Jacobs to provide program management at new US nitrogen fertilizer facility
Construction of the plant is expected to begin in November of 2014 and take three years to complete. Once operational, Midwest Fertilizer will make nitrogen-based fertilizers to supply domestic demand.
US chemical sector poised for dynamic expansion as investment increases
Supported by activity within the domestic chemicals sector, the ACC says the US economy is likely to see continued, though moderated growth in 2014, according to ACC's monthly Chemical Activity Barometer.
Shell Canada, Caterpillar explore LNG fuels for use in Alberta mining trucks
Caterpillar will leverage its experience with LNG in other applications, and will continue development work to design and build a fully integrated mining truck where LNG displaces most of the diesel power. Caterpillar will test the design at Shell's oil sands operations located near Fort McMurray.
US safety board seeks overhaul of California refinery regulations
After the August 2012 fire at Chevron's Richmond refinery, the CSB says it wants to replace reactive and activity-based regulations with a rigorous, performance-based scheme.
Alfa Laval wins order to supply heat exchangers at US petrochemical plant
The Alfa Laval OLMI heat exchangers will be used to increase the yield and recover energy in the production of ethylene, an important ingredient for the manufacturing of industrial chemicals and plastics products.
US PVC prices to rise in 2014 on higher ethylene costs, export demand
Stronger prices for the ethylene used to make PVC and strong PVC export markets are supporting the upward momentum in PVC pricing, according to a weekly newsletter.
Sapphire Energy, Phillips 66 advance algae crude oil commercialization
Sapphire Energy and Phillips 66 say they will work together to collect and analyze data from co-processing of algae and conventional crude oil into fuels. The goal is to complete fuel certifications to ready Sapphire's renewable crude oil, called Green Crude, for wide-scale oil refining.
- thyssenkrupp Uhde selected by Dangote Fertilizer Ltd. to license four urea granulation units in Nigeria 11/21
- Indian and Chinese refineries are moving to comply with U.S. sanctions on Russia 11/21
- China's first coal-to-chemicals project with green hydrogen starts commercial operations 11/20
- Norsk e-Fuel and Braskem partner to turn captured carbon into long-lasting products 11/20
- Nigeria's Dangote refinery delays CDU maintenance to end of January 2026 11/20
- Tecnimont attends ground-breaking ceremony of Tengiz Gas separation Complex in Kazakhstan 11/20
