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Petrochemicals

Improve your plantwide steam network

Merrick & Co.: Pelham, R. O.

When optimizing an existing steam network, design and process engineers need a complete understanding of all aspects of the existing system. Accurate energy and material balances must be established.

HP Brief

Hydrocarbon Processing Staff: Thinnes, Billy

Uncertainty looms in EU economyEuropean chemicals output contracted by 2% in 2012 compared with 2011, according to European chemicals group Cefic. By lowering its forecast released in September, the c..

HP Industry Perspectives: 2012: Is it over yet?

Hydrocarbon Processing Staff: Romanow, Stephany

According to a year-end report from the American Chemistry Council (ACC), the global economy is still stumbling three years after the “great recession of 2008.” The Euro area is challenged t..

ExxonMobil commissions Singapore expansion of petrochemical plants

HP Editorial Staff: HP News

It includes a new ethylene steam cracker, two polyethylene plants, a polypropylene plant, a metallocene elastomers unit, an oxo-alcohol unit and an aromatics expansion.

Petro Rabigh to halt Saudi refinery operations for necessary maintenance

Petro Rabigh said supplies of power and steam had been interrupted from its provider, which forced the firm to stop its operations. The firm utilizes 400,000 bpd of crude oil and 1.2 million tpy of ethane as primary feedstock to produce several refined petroleum products and petrochemical products.

European petrochem industry missing out on shale gas benefits – Sabic CEO

Mohamed al-Mady, the Sabic CEO, said the US production boom has driven down gas prices, making electricity cheaper for the energy-intensive industry. The shale gas also often contains ethane, which can be converted into the ethylene that is used in many of the petrochemical industry's products, he said.

Qatar sets up new company to market domestic petrochemical products

The Qatar Chemical and Petrochemical Marketing and Distribution Co., or Muntajat, would have "exclusive rights to purchase, market, distribute and sell Qatar's production of chemical and petrochemical regulated products to the global market". The new entity is expected to start operations in Q1 2013.

Mitsubishi to build US resin processing plant next to new Dow Chemical cracker

The Japanese company plans to set up an acrylic resin-processing plant next to one of the world's largest ethylene plants the US company is set to build in Texas. The two companies aim to use the cheaper, new natural gas to mass-produce value-added chemical products.

Chemical executives cite fiscal cliff, economy as biggest concerns

HP Editorial Staff: HP News

The new KPMG poll finds 41% of US chemical business executives believe in the current macro-economic environment, the top concern is the ongoing fiscal cliff crisis.

PolyOne buys US composites company Glasforms

The purchase marks PolyOne's entry into advanced composite technology, an adjacency consistent with the company's strategy of providing specialty solutions that deliver customer value. With a purchase price of $34 million, PolyOne said it expects the deal to be accretive to earnings in 2013.