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KBR awarded FEED contract for butadiene expansion project in Saudi Arabia; and more business news

  Plant Watch Momentive to construct two formaldehyde plants in Louisiana November 10, 2014 — Momentive Specialty Chemicals Inc. (Columbus, Ohio; www.momentive.com) plans to build two new formaldehyde plants in Geismar and Luling, La., with operations expected to begin in…

Amec Foster Wheeler awarded boiler contract in Bulgaria

Amec Foster Wheeler (London, U.K.; www.amecfw.com) has announced the award of a contract for the design, supply and erection of a circulating fluidized-bed (CFB) boiler island for Deven JSCo, asubsidiary of Solvay Sodi. The boiler island, the second that Amec…

Economic Indicators

Current trends The preliminary value for the September CE Plant Cost Index (CEPCI; top; the most recent available) rose 0.26% from the final August value, extending the series of monthly increases to six in a row. All four of the…

Lubrizol to acquire oilfield chemicals and drilling fluids businesses from Weatherford

The Lubrizol Corp. (Wickliffe, Ohio; www.lubrizol.com) has agreed to acquire Weatherford’s (Houston; www.weatherford.com) oilfield chemicals business and its drilling fluids business for $825 million, including a $75 million performance-based cash earnout. The deal enhances Lubrizol’s footprint in the $20 billion…

Current Trends

The preliminary value for the September CE Plant Cost Index (CEPCI; the most recent available) rose 0.26% from the final August value, extending the series of monthly increases to six in a row. All four of the major subindices increased…

Calendar: January – September 2015

NORTH AMERICA Europe Asia & Elsewhere 22nd Winter Fluorine Conference. American Chemical Soc., Div. of Fluorine Chemistry (Washington, D.C.). Phone: 800-227-5558; Web: acs.org St. Pete Beach, Fla. January 11–16, 2015   5th Electric Energy Storage Conference. Marcus Evans North America…

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Pöyry awarded contract for nickel emissions reduction project in Canada  

Vale Canada Ltd. has awarded Pöyry (Montreal) Inc. (www.poyry.com) with the detailed engineering and construction site assistance services assignment for the nickel emissions project at Copper Cliff Nickel Refinery in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. The project involves a new baghouse with…

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BASF plans major investment in pioneering superabsorbent technology  

BASF SE (Ludwigshafen, Germany; www.basf.com) today announced plans for a major investment in a pioneering superabsorbent technology platform of its hygiene business. BASF will invest up to €500 million ($625 million) over the next two to three years to establish…

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Neste Jacobs to implement tall-oil-rosin production facility in Sweden  

Neste Jacobs Oy (Porvoo, Finland; www.nestejacobs.com) and SunPine (www.sunpine.se) have signed an agreement for Neste Jacobs to perform engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) services to construct a tall-oil-rosin production facility in Piteå, Sweden. The facility is expected to be…

Chemical-industry leading economic indicator rose in November, ACC says

The Chemical Activity Barometer (CAB), a leading economic indicator created by the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com), logged a 0.2% gain this month, following an upward revision in October which reflected zero growth, as measured on a three-month…