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Westlake shuts PVC pipe plant amid excess supply

Westlake Chemical said on Thursday that its subsidiary North American Pipe has shut down its polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipe production facility in Springfield, Ky., in an effort to reduce costs and optimize production operations amid excess capacity in the PVC pipe market.

IEA nations to tap oil reserves as supply disruptions continue in Libya

International Energy Agency (IEA) executive director Nobuo Tanaka announced Thursday that the 28 IEA member countries have agreed to release 60 million bbl of oil in the coming month in response to the ongoing disruption of oil supplies from Libya.

NPRA blasts US role in opening of oil reserves

The National Petrochemical & Refiners Association (NPRA) criticized the decision by the Obama administration to contribute 30 million bbl of oil from US strategic reserves, part of 60 million bbl to be tapped by International Energy Agency (IEA) member countries.

US natgas firm Williams outbids Energy Transfer on proposed Southern Union acquisition

Williams said Thursday that it is offering $39/share in cash for all outstanding shares of Southern Union, making for a total enterprise value of $8.7 billion.

Sasol picks Foster Wheeler for technical study of Canada gas-to-liquids project

Foster Wheeler has been awarded a contract by Sasol to perform the technical portion of a feasibility study for a planned gas-to-liquids facility in Canada, on behalf of the Sasol/Talisman Energy partnership.

Eastman to acquire US plasticizer, acetic acid firm Sterling Chemicals for $100mn

Eastman Chemical has agreed to acquire Sterling Chemicals, a single site North American petrochemical producer, for $100 million in cash, subject to modest deductions at closing as provided in the merger agreement.

Energy Transfer, Regency to build 530-mile NGL pipeline in Texas

Energy Transfer and Regency Energy will construct an approximately 530-mile natural gas liquids (NGL) pipeline in Texas through their Lone Star NGL joint venture.

Transocean blames BP in new Gulf oil spill report

Transocean announced the release of an internal investigation report on the causes of the April 2010 Macondo well incident in the Gulf of Mexico, blaming rig operator BP for failing to properly assess, manage and communicate risk to its contractors.

Motiva to build rail facility for ethanol at Florida site

Motiva Enterprises said it has reached an agreement with Vecenergy to construct a fuel-grade ethanol rail offloading facility at the Motiva terminal in Port Everglades, Florida. The expanded operations will allow for the delivery of ethanol unit trains directly into existing Motiva storage tanks, the company said.

Dow Chemical picks Fluor for engineering on Texas propane dehydrogenation expansion

Fluor has been awarded a contract by Dow Chemical to provide basic engineering and design services on its propane dehydrogenation (PDH) expansion project in Freeport, Texas.