Polymers
Europe: Germany
The German chemical industry has an outstanding position inside Europe. Nearly 25% of chemical product sales in the European Union (EU) are by German chemical companies. Ranking behind China, the US a..
Asia: China
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced in its January 2012 “World Economic Outlook” that the global GDP growth rate was 3.8% in 2011. However, Asian-Pacific nations bucked this tren..
South America: Venezuela
Fig. 1 illustrates the annual gross domestic product (GDP) and inflation from 2006 to 2011 for Venezuela. High crude oil prices have helped domestic GDP growth, suggesting a healthy economy. ..
South America: Brazil
Brazil’s economic improvement was remarkable over the past decade, following many years of slow growth. On average, the Brazilian gross output of goods and services increased at an annual average..
Asia: India
The Indian economy has come a long way since the 1991 economic reforms. A decade and a half of economic reform and globalization is yielding returns that cut across all income groups. The domestic eco..
Asia: Japan
The Japanese economy showed steady recovery for 2003–2007. However, due to the global recession in late 2008, Japan’s GDP growth decreased to –1% in 2008 and to –5.5% in 2009. Due ..
Europe: United Kingdom
The United Kingdom (UK) is Europe’s fourth largest chemical economy, after Germany, France and Italy. It accounts for 8% of the European Union’s (EU’s) $900 billion overall chemical pro..
LyondellBasell to restore idled German LDPE line
Startup of the new line, out since January 2012, is targeted for mid-2013. The Wesseling LDPE line has historically been used to produce LDPE grades for healthcare applications. The company says restoration of this LDPE line will enhance its ability to supply an important market.
Sabic, Shell to expand Saudi petrochemical venture
Sabic said the two companies will jointly conduct studies for a styrene monomer propylene oxide, or SMPO, project and a polyols project before making a final decision. The firms said they also agreed to explore international petrochemical opportunities beyond Sadaf and Saudi Arabia.
BASF to build emulsion polymers plant in Texas
With the new plant in Freeport, Texas, BASF believes it will be able to better serve the coatings, construction, adhesives, and paper industries by expanding the network of manufacturing locations and improve the backward integration of raw materials used in production.
- Iran's Revolutionary Guards say they targeted petrochemical facilities in the Gulf 4/6
- Damietta Green Ammonia completes pre-FEED for $873-MM, 150,000-tpy green ammonia facility 4/6
- EIB and Eni sign €500-MM in financing for new biorefinery in Sannazzaro de’ Burgondi 4/6
- India's Reliance buys Venezuelan oil directly from PDVSA 4/6
- Japan to boost intermediate chemical imports amid tighter naphtha supply 4/6
- Five EU countries call for windfall tax on energy companies 4/6
