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Americas

HP Impact: Bio-based polymers could be next big thing

Hydrocarbon Processing Staff: Thinnes, Billy

Biofuels and bio-based chemicals have been promoted as a potential solution for dependence on petroleum. They also have favorable greenhouse gas emissions compared to fossil fuels and petrochemicals b..

HP Innovations: HPInnovations

AESSEAL wins big at IMechE awards   Fig. 1. Award-winning   AESSEAL offers a wide range   of products. The UK-based mechanical seals manufacturer was nominated for seven out o..

Westlake Chemical raises bid for Georgia Gulf

Westlake Chemical has submitted a revised proposal to the board of Georgia Gulf to acquire all the outstanding shares of the company for $35.00/share in cash. The revised proposal represents a 17% increase to Westlake’s previous bid, the company said.

Argentina to push oil companies to invest more

Governors from Argentina's top 10 oil-producing provinces will meet next week in a bid to push oil and gas companies to increase oil and gas output. In a speech last week, Argentine President Cristina Kirchner bashed the industry for declining output and called on oil companies to boost production.

Georgia Gulf rejects revised takeover bid from Westlake Chemical

Georgia Gulf on Wednesday rejected the revised takeover bid from US-based Westlake Chemical, which bumped its offer to $35/share from an earlier $30/share. The company said the offer was far from compelling and did not represent an appropriate price to discuss the sale.

Praxair sells US advanced components unit to NGK

Praxair has sold its advanced components business to Fremont, Calif.-based FM Industries, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Japan’s NGK Insulators. The advanced components business designs, engineers, manufactures and supplies electrostatic chucks (ESCs) and critical chamber components for semiconductor processing equipment.

ExxonMobil licenses technology on oil sands steam injection to Baker Hughes

ExxonMobil has awarded the first license for its patented steam injection system and production method to Baker Hughes to improve the efficiency of in-situ oil sands projects. The technology provides more effective regulation and distribution of steam in long horizontal wells.

Shell CEO says Arctic focus on Alaska, Greenland

Shell’s plans to drill for oil and gas in the Arctic region will be centered on Alaska and Greenland, though the Anglo-Dutch major is also eyeing Russia's far north as an exploration frontier, said CEO Peter Voser. Vast hydrocarbon reserves are believed to lie off the coast of Greenland.

Shell, ORTEC form alliance on technical consulting

Shell and ORTEC formed a global cooperation alliance, focusing on the optimization of supply chain processes and strategic decision making in up - and downstream engineering disciplines like planning & scheduling, gas field production capacity optimization, spare parts management, and cost estimating.

OPEC sees no shortage of oil in any region

OPEC's secretary general said Monday that there is currently no shortage of oil anywhere, despite current supply concerns. Oil markets have been jittery by interruption of supply from countries such as Sudan and fears Iran may preempt a planned European embargo on its oil exports.