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KBR awarded feasibility study contract for a refinery in Liberia

KBR, Inc. (Houston; www.kbr.com) has been awarded a Bankable Feasibility Study (BFS) contract by ECOWAS Refinery Liberia Limited (ERLL) for development of a 100,000-bbl/d petroleum refinery located in Buchanan, Liberia. Under the terms of the contract, KBR will provide a…

Chemours to sell Sulfur Products business to Veolia

The Chemours Co. (Wilmington, Del.; www.chemours.com) has signed a definitive agreement to sell the assets which comprise its Sulfur Products business, part of its Chemical Solutions segment, to Veolia North America for $325 million in cash. The company anticipates closing…

Jacobs wins contract for Sahara Petrochemicals facilities in Saudi Arabia

Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (Pasadena, Calif.; www.jacobs.com) received a three-year contract from Sahara Petrochemicals  to provide general engineering services at Sahara’s Jubail Industrial City facilities in Saudi Arabia. Under the terms of the contract, Jacobs is expected to provide engineering,…

Dow increases glycidyl methacrylate capacity

The Dow Chemical Company (Midland, Mich.; www.dow.com) successfully completed a critical debottlenecking project at its Freeport, Texas facility that increased capacity for glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) by 30% annually. The project, which was announced in December 2015, was launched to provide…

Cost Savings with Process Vacuum – Part 2

In light of the operational concerns reviewed in Part 1, this chemical recycling firm decided to evaluate different pump technologies.  Fortunately, recent advances in vacuum pump technology make dry-running pumps a viable option for many of those currently using liquid…

Clariant and Kilfrost terminate acquisition plans for European business

Specialty chemical maker Clariant AG (Muttenz, Switzerland; www.clariant.com) and Kilfrost plc (Newcastle, U.K.; www.kilfrost.com) today announced that the companies have terminated the acquisition agreement they entered into on November 19, 2015, relating to the sale and purchase of the European…

Westlake to acquire Axiall for $3.8 billion

Westlake Chemical Corp. (Houston; www.westlake.com) and Axiall Corp. (Atlanta, Ga.; www.axiall.com) announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Westlake will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Axiall for $33.00 per share in an all-cash transaction,…

Unipetrol breaks ground on Czech Republic’s largest petrochemical project

Unipetrol a.s. (Prague, Czech Republic; www.unipetrol.cz) has officially broken ground for the construction of a new polyethylene unit (PE3). It is the largest investment in the history of the Czech petrochemical industry in the amount of CZK 8.5 billion (approximately…

New management position at Kral

On May 1, Matthias Kaufmann, DI (FH), MAS, took over the management of the pumps division at Kral AG (Lustenau, Austria; www.kral.at), and simultaneously became a member of the management team.  After completing his studies in manufacturing automation, Kaufmann worked…

PPG to acquire coatings service provider MetoKote

PPG Industries, Inc. (Pittsburgh, Pa.; www.ppg.com) has reached a definitive agreement to acquire MetoKote Corp. and its affiliates. MetoKote is a U.S.-based coatings services business with 2015 global sales of approximately $200 million. The transaction is expected to close in…