Polypropylene project

Production shift

LyondellBasell Industries will stop producing polypropylene at its Morris, Illinois plant in the fourth quarter of 2008.  Production will be shifted to other sites.  The facility’s existing polyethylene production will not be affected.

Expansion

Eastman Chemical Co. has completed the expansion of its specialty co-polyester capacity at its manufacturing site in Columbia, South Carolina.  The additional production is expected to come on-line this June.

Hydrogen plant

Linde North America has opened its new hydrogen plant in Saraland, Alabama.  The plant will supply Shell Chemical LP with hydrogen for upgrading heavy gas oil at its 80,000 barrel/day refinery.

Training center

Petrofac has opened a new training center in Houston, Texas.  The facility is equipped to meet the health and safety and emergency response training needs of the oil and gas industry there as well as service other industries within the energy sector.  A range of courses are available to prepare individuals and organizations for major emergencies. 

Chemserve and MeadWestvaco Corp. will partner on a joint venture with Resitec Industria Quimica Ltda.  Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but will broaden Resitec’s product offerings and strengthen MeadWestvaco’s and Chemserve’s presence in South America.  The deal is expected to close in the second quarter.

Protest

Approximately 200 people demonstrated in Pengzhou, China against the building of a petrochemical plant they believe will pollute their city.  The protest march lasted two hours and was peaceful.  The protestors are opposing plans to build an 800,000 ton/year ethylene plant and oil refinery.  The government has already approved the refinery’s construction and says the necessary research on potential impact has been completed and shows no sign of harm to its surrounding environment.

Joint venture

NOVA Chemicals has signed a letter of intent with Reliance Industries Ltd. to form a building and construction joint venture.  The joint venture will leverage NOVA’s green building and construction technology to design, engineer and build a range of high-efficiency structures in India.  The building and construction systems and component parts would be based on expandable polystyrene that would minimize resource consumption while decreasing on-going energy demand by as much as a third.  The companies expect the new venture to be operational by the third quarter of this year following the finalization of formal agreements.

Expansion