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Fluor and Technip JV awarded contract for Sasol’s La. ethane cracker and derivatives complex  

Fluor Corp. (Irving, Tex.; www.fluor.com), in a joint venture (JV) with Technip (Paris, France; www.technip.com), was awarded a contract to continue to support Sasol with the detailed design, procurement and construction of its world-scale ethane cracker and derivatives complex in…

Westlake to expand ethylene capacity in Lake Charles

Westlake Chemical Corp. (Houston; www.westlake.com) has announced that it will expand its ethylene capacity and make other capital improvements in Lake Charles, La. with an investment in excess of $330 million.  This expansion is expected to be completed in late…

AkzoNobel starts operations at China vehicle refinishes plant

AkzoNobel (Amsterdam, the Netherlands; www.akzonobel.com) has started operations at its state-of-the-art vehicle refinishes plant in Changzhou, China. It is the company's 30th manufacturing facility in the country.   The new factory adds around 25 million liters of capacity for Sikkens,…

U.S. CPRI continues to rise in September, ACC says

The U.S. Chemical Production Regional Index (CPRI) continued its rise, gaining 0.6% in September, according to the latest Weekly Chemistry and Economic Report from the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com).   The September gain follows an upwardly revised…

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Caloric wins its first project in the U.K.  

Caloric Anlagenbau GmbH (Gräfelfing, Germany; www.caloric.com) has won its first contract in the U.K. for a small, industrial onsite carbon-monoxide-generation plant (40 Nm³/h of pure CO). The plant will be delivered to a chemical company in the UK and will…

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New Air Products Lab will help oil recyclers optimize hydrotreatment processes

Air Products (Lehigh Valley, Pa.; www.airproducts.com) is building a hydrogen laboratory at its corporate headquarters in Allentown, Pa., that will support the fast growing oil recycling industry. A key feature of the new laboratory is a hydrotreatment unit capable of…

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Fluor and Technip awarded RAPID Refinery Facilities Project in Malaysia  

Fluor Corp. (Irving, Tex.; www.fluor.com), in a joint venture (JV) with Technip (Paris, France; www.technip.com), was awarded an engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) contract by PRPC Utilities and Facilities Sdn. Bhd. for the Petronas Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development…

AkzoNobel exits paper chemicals market with divestment of Eka Synthomer JV

AkzoNobel N.V. (Amsterdam, the Netherlands; www.akzonobel.com) has announced the €5 million divestment of its 50% share in non-consolidated joint venture (JV) Eka Synthomer Oy, to Synthomer. The divestment of these shares follows a strategic review of the businesses within AkzoNobel's…

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UOP phenol technology selected by Cepsa Chemical in China  

UOP LLC (Des Plaines, Ill.; www.uop.com), a Honeywell company, says that Cepsa Chemical (Shanghai) Co. will use UOP process technology to meet demand in China for key petrochemicals used to make plastics for the fast-growing domestic construction and automotive industries.…

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ThyssenKrupp wins follow-up order for cement plant in Saudi Arabia  

ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions AG (Essen, Germany; www.thyssenkrupp-industrial-solutions.com), the ThyssenKrupp Group's plant engineering specialist, has received an order from Al Sawfa Cement Co. (Saudi Arabia) to build a complete cement production line. The order is worth around €100 million. The new…