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ExxonMobil Chemical Co. begins multi-billion dollar expansion project in Baytown  

ExxonMobil Chemical Co. (Houston; www.exxonmobile.com) says that it has started construction of a multi-billion dollar ethane cracker at its Baytown, Tex., complex and associated premium product facilities in nearby Mont Belvieu. This project, and major investments ExxonMobil has made to…

U.S. and global CPRIs rise in May, ACC says

The U.S. Chemical Production Regional Index (U.S. CPRI) was 0.4% higher in May, following a 0.6% gain in April, according to the latest Weekly Chemistry and Economic Report from the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com). Chemical output was…

Asahi Kasei will construct manufacturing plant for newly developed optical polymer

Asahi Kasei Chemicals Corp. (Tokyo, Japan; www.asahi-kasei.co.jp) has developed as a new optical polymer called AZP. Manufacturing facilities for AZP will be constructed at the company’s Chiba Plant (Sodegaura, Chiba, Japan), with start-up scheduled for early 2015. Applications for AZP…

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Lanxess opens new rubber-production line in Dormagen  

Lanxess AG (Cologne, Germany; www.lanxess.com) has completed the expansion of its Baypren polychloroprene solid rubber production operations in Dormagen, Germany. Werner Breuers, member of the Lanxess AG Board of Management, and Jan Paul de Vries, head of Lanxess’ High Performance…

Chevron Phillips breaks ground for U.S. polyethylene units

Chevron Phillips Chemical Co. LP (The Woodlands, Tex.; www.cpchem.com) held its second groundbreaking ceremony for its U.S. Gulf Coast (USGC) Petrochemicals Project at the construction site in Old Ocean, Tex. The construction includes two world-scale polyethylene units that will each…

Versalis/Novamont joint venture Matrica starts up biorefinery in Italy

Matrìca S.p.A (Porto Torres, Italy; www.matrica.it), the 50/50 joint venture between Versalis (Eni) and Novamont has inaugurated its first “green chemistry complex.” First conceived in 2011, with the objective of converting the petrochemical plant at Porto Torres, Italy into an…

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Novasep-MIE consortium to construct the first sorbitol production plant in Vietnam  

Novasep (Pompey, France; www.novasep.com), a leading supplier of services and technologies to the life science industries, today announces that its Shanghai-based Asia Pacific subsidiary has secured an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract with Tay Ninh Chemical Industry (Tanichem), a…

Yara to acquire Borealis’ stake in French urea plant

Yara International (Oslo, Norway; www.yara.com) has accepted an offer from Borealis AG (Vienna, Austria; www.borealisgroup.com) to acquire Borealis' ownership in Le Havre, situated on the north-west coast of France, following the Borealis acquisition of GPN SA, including 52.15% ownership in…

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Kobe Steel’s compressor company opens in Brazil  

Kobe Steel, Ltd. (Tokyo, Japan; www.kobelco.com) announces that its subsidiary company, Kobelco Machinery do Brazil Ltda., has begun full-scale marketing of nonstandard compressors in the South America. Based in Sao Paulo, Kobelco Machinery do Brazil (KMB) is Kobe Steel’s first…

Sika opens new manufacturing and R&D facilities in India

Sika AG (Baar, Switzerland; www.sika.com) has inaugurated its sixth manufacturing facility and R&D Center in Jhagadia, Gujarat. The new facility, located in the western part of India, will focus on concrete admixtures, mortars, resin floors and adhesives for the booming…