Europe
Gazprom makes bid for BP stake in Russia TNK-BP
An arm of Russian state-controlled Gazprom has lodged a bid for BP's $25 billion stake in its venture in the country, The Sunday Times reports. The move will increase pressure on AAR, the group controlled by BP's Russian billionaire partners that owns the other half of TNK-BP, said the newspaper.
SABIC signs pact with German research group for technology development
Petrochemical major Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC) and German research organization Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft recently signed a multi-year agreement to mutually develop advanced technologies. Fraunhofer is Europe’s largest application-oriented research organization.
Global liquid fuels demand seen rising 0.9%/yr - EIA
Global liquid-fuels demand is expected to rise by 0.9% between 2010 and 2035, to 109.5 million bpd, with the world becoming more reliant on OPEC oil, according to a new US government forecast released on Monday. OPEC's share of world demand will rise to 41.9% in 2035 from 39.7% in 2010.
KBR awarded pre-FEED studies for offshore FLNG projects in Israel, Australia
KBR was selected as Höegh’s preferred engineer for pre-FEED studies on two projects off the coast of Israel and offshore Australia. Both projects will be performed in KBR’s operating center in London, utilizing the company’s FLNG engineering capability spread over the London, Houston and Perth offices.
EU chemical output falls in 2012 on low confidence
European Union (EU) chemicals production recorded a 1.9% decrease in the first four months of 2012 compared with the same period in 2011. Confidence in the EU chemicals industry deteriorated in May, based mainly on a strong deterioration in managers' expectations for the months ahead.
Sibur picks Linde for Russia ethylene project FEED
Technology company The Linde Group has received an engineering contract for the licensing and front-end engineering design (FEED) of a world-scale ethylene plant in Tobolsk, Western Siberia. Once finished, the new plant will produce around 1.5 million tpy of ethylene and 500,000 tpy of propylene.
Cabot to buy Dutch activated carbon producer Norit
Cabot Corp. has agreed to purchase Netherlands-based activated carbon producer Norit N.V. for $1.1 billion, officials with both companies announced Thursday. Norit provides the widest and most-differentiated range of activated carbon products of any producer, according to Cabot officials.
KBR wins technology, engineering deal for ethylene plant in Uzbekistan
Uz-Kor Gas Chemical has chosen KBR to provide an integrated technology, engineering, procurement and construction support solution for the company’s flexible-feed, 400,000-tpy ethylene plant in the Ustyurt region of Uzbekistan. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
CB&I wins engineering deal on new NKNKh ethylene plant in Russia
CB&I’s project scope includes FEED for a 1.0 million tpy ethylene plant, a related butadiene extraction unit and a pyrotol unit, including offsites and utilities. The work is scheduled for completion in 2013.
Bayer, Intergraph call for standardized piping in German chemical sector
Intergraph is teaming up with Bayer Technology Services to lobby for a standardized piping environment in the German chemical process industry. Many active companies have shown interest in the project and some have already agreed to the conditions in principle, Intergraph said.
- OCI Global completes $1.9-B sale of OCI Methanol to Methanex Corporation 6/30
- Partnership for sustainability: Pekutherm and POLYVANTIS launch circular economy initiative 6/30
- Univation Technologies and C3 AI collaborate to deliver enterprise AI solutions for advanced predictive maintenance across the global petrochemical industry 6/30
- Lloyd’s Register signs strategic collaboration with DAI Infrastruktur for green ammonia Project Ra 6/30
- Alleima expands product portfolio for the urea industry with SAF™ 2906 6/30
- UK's Lindsey oil refinery insolvent, 420 jobs at risk 6/30
