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Linde and Shell enter agreement for new ethane-cracking units

The Linde Group (Munich, Germany; www.linde.com) has announced that it has entered into an Enterprise Framework Agreement (EFA) with Shell Global Solutions International B. V. to build ethane-cracking units on a global basis. The EFA is for ten years, with…

Alcoa invests $40 million to increase specialty foil capacity in Brazil

Alcoa Inc. (Pittsburgh, Pa.; www.alcoa.com) has announced a $40 million investment in its Itapissuma, Brazil, rolling mill to increase production of specialty foils for aseptic and flexible packages. The expansion was announced at the ExpoAlumínio trade show in São Paulo.…

Praxair will build a steam-methane reformer to boost hydrogen output in Niagara Falls

Praxair, Inc. (Danbury, Conn.; www.praxair.com) is planning on expanding its business and building a steam-methane reformer to increase the supply of hydrogen for its liquid hydrogen plant in Niagara Falls, N.Y. This investment will serve growing needs for hydrogen in…

Sulzer acquires polymer foams specialist Aixfotec

Sulzer Chemtech (Winterthur, Switzerland; www.sulzer.com) is taking over Aixfotec GmbH, a leading technology company in extrusion systems for the production of polymer foams, based in Aachen, Germany. The acquisition was signed and concluded on March 31, 2014. This acquisition widens…

Aspen Tech acquires Sulsim software

Aspen Technology, Inc. (Burlington, Mass.; www.aspentech.com), a provider of software and services to the process industries, announced it has acquired the Sulsim sulfur simulation software from Sulphur Experts Inc.(www.sulphurexperts.com).  The Sulsim sulfur-recovery product has been used by the world’s leading…

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Samsung Engineering signs oil-field-development contract in Iraq  

Samsung Engineering Co., (Seoul, South Korea; www.samsungengineering.com) has officially announced that it was awarded the North (Hammar Mishrif) New Degassing Station Facilities contract for the ENI Zubair Oil Field Development project in Iraq, worth $840 million. The development of the…

Celanese announces plans for new methanol unit

Celanese Corp. (Irving, Tex.; www.celanese.com) has announced its intent to explore plans to construct a methanol production unit at the company’s Bishop, Tex., facility.   Celanese is preparing to apply for the necessary environmental construction permits for a methanol unit…

Dow and Mitsui start up joint chlor-alkali plant in Texas

The Dow Chemical Company (Midland, Mich.; www.dow.com) has announced that its joint venture membrane chlor-alkali facility with Mitsui & Co., Ltd (Tokyo; www.mitsui.com) has successfully initiated full-scale, commercial production. Dow’s share of the chlorine produced at the Dow-Mitsui Chlor-Alkali Freeport,…

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CB&I awarded contract for plastics project in Oman  

CB&I (The Woodlands, Tex.; www.cbi.com) has been awarded a contract valued in excess of $40 million by Oman Oil Refineries and Petroleum Industries Co. (Orpic) to provide ethylene technology and front end engineering and design (FEED) services for the Liwa…

Asahi Kasei opens new acetonitrile plant in Korea

Asahi Kasei Chemicals (Tokyo, Japan; www.asahi-kasei.co.jp) held an opening ceremony celebrating the construction of a new acetonitrile plant in Tongsuh Petrochemical’s plant grounds in Ulsan, Korea, which started up operations in January 2014.   Acetonitrile is mainly used as a…