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Asia/Pacific

Praxair to collaborate on environmental research with top China university

Industrial gases major Praxair has entered into a long-term environmental research collaboration with the State Key Lab of Pollution Control & Resource Reuse Study at Tongji University in Shanghai.

Conoco, Origin JV approves Australia LNG project

ConocoPhillips and partner Origin Energy on Thursday gave final approval to build the initial train of a two-train liquefied natural gas (LNG) 9.0 million tpy project by Australia Pacific LNG in Queensland, Australia.

AkzoNobel to buy China specialty surfactants firm Boxing Oleochemicals

AkzoNobel has agreed to acquire China-based Boxing Oleochemicals, allowing it to strengthen its position in specialty surfactants while enhancing its manufacturing footprint in Asia, company officials said.

Rare earths sales likely to triple by 2015 - study

World demand for rare earths is forecast to expand by 7.1%/year to 180,000 metric tons by 2015, according to a new study from US industry market research firm The Freedonia Group. In dollar terms, sales are expected to more than triple from $3.0 billion in 2010 to $9.2 billion in 2015.

QSolar doubles photovoltaic panel output in China

QSolar Ltd. has added a second production line for solar photovoltaic (PV) panels in its manufacturing facility in Shanghai, China. The addition of the second line doubles the production capacity from the 20MW/year (about $30 million/year) to 40MW/year (about $60 million/year).

Corning to expand China clean air products plant

The board of directors for glass maker Corning approved a capital expenditure plan of $170 million to further increase capacity at its clean air products plant in Shanghai, China.

CB&I wins $500mn LNG tank deal in Asia Pacific

CB&I has been awarded a contract in excess of $500 million for the engineering, fabrication and construction of two 160,000 cubic meter LNG storage tanks, as well as additional work for a confidential LNG liquefaction project in the Asia Pacific region.

US shale wave weakens petroleum market share for Russia, Iran, Venezuela - study

Rising US natural gas production from shale formations has already played a critical role in weakening Russia’s ability to wield an "energy weapon" over its European customers, and this trend will accelerate in the coming decades, according to a new study from Rice University’s Baker Institute.

China's CNOOC to buy Canadian oil sands firm Opti

Chinese oil giant CNOOC has agreed to acquire Canadian oil sands producer Opti Canada for about $2.1 billion. The transaction is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Dow Chemical, Mitsui form biopolymers JV in Brazil

US-based Dow Chemical and Japan-based Mitsui & Co. have formed a new joint venture aimed at providing sustainable product solutions to the global high-performance flexible packaging, hygiene and medical markets. This represents the world’s largest biopolymers play and is Dow’s largest investment in Brazil, a country in which Dow has operated successfully for more than 50 years, officials said.