Ineos Energy, one of the newer units in Jim Ratcliffe’s growing portfolio of chemicals and related holdings, has signed dual agreements with Japanese shipbuilder Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) for two very large LNG carriers it plans to use to transport US-produced liquefied natural gas to Germany.
Due to considerations likely to reflect objections not only from the chemical industry, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the US Department of Justice have pulled a much-heralded campaign for environmental justice in the state of Louisiana.
Polish chemicals and plastics producer Grupa Azoty has started up what it says is the first new polypropylene plant to be built in Europe in 15 years, while also realizing one of the largest investments in the European chemical industry.
German engineering plastics producer Covestro has signed a 90 megawatt (MW) virtual power purchase agreement (vPPA) with Danish renewables producer Ørsted for its US site at Baytown, Texas.
Venture Global, a US-based exporter of LNG, which has just agreed two major supply deals with German customers, says it is on track to solidify its position as the country’s largest supplier of liquefied natural gas.
US chemical group Celanese Corporation and Japanese chemical giant Mitsui & Co have signed a definitive agreement to form a food ingredients joint venture under the name Nutrinova.
The board of Finnish refiner Neste has given the all-clear to invest €111 million in new facilities for upgrading liquefied plastics waste at the company’s headquarters site in Porvoo.
Six US states – New York, California, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Washington – have joined the Federal Trade Commission's lawsuit to block Amgen's proposed nearly $28 billion acquisition of Horizon Therapeutics.
3M has agreed to pay $10.3 billion to resolve legal challenges brought against the company by US public water systems over its discharges of polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) into US waterways. The deal is subject to approval by a US federal court.
US technology and engineering group KBR has won a contract from Southern Rock Energy Partners to perform a feasibility study for a green refinery in Cushing, Oklahoma, USA.
H.B. Fuller, which bills itself as the world’s largest pure-play adhesives provider, has announced the completion of two strategic acquisitions that it said will accelerate the transformation of the US company’s portfolio toward more highly specified applications and enhance diversification of its Construction Adhesives (CA) business.
US biopharma Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical has opened a gene therapy manufacturing facility in Bedford, Massachusetts, USA. The company said it is one of the first in the US with complete end-to-end gene therapy capabilities, from R&D through to therapeutic production at scale.
In what is being billed as a bipartisan effort to address shortages along the US pharmaceutical supply chain, two senators — one Democrat, one Republican — have introduced legislation that calls for an investigation of the problems and development of a plan to reduce the country’s dependence on imported drugs.
Indian CDMO Enzene Biosciences — a subsidiary of Alkem Laboratories — is to build a biopharmaceutical manufacturing plant on the Princeton West Innovation Campus in Hopewell, New Jersey, USA.
German engineering plastics producer Covestro has rejected an initial takeover proposal from Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC) as too low, the Bloomberg news agency reports, citing “people familiar with the matter.”
Major drugmaker Eli Lilly is to pay up to $2.4 billion to acquire Dice Therapeutics, a US biotech specializing in developing oral medicines to treat chronic autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.
German PMMA specialist Röhm has signed a final agreement to acquire SABIC’s Functional form business, which makes high-end polycarbonate film and sheet.
Two former spinoffs from Bayer were competing for headlines on Jun. 19 and 20, as specialty chemicals company Lanxess issued a profit warning amid rumors that Middle East chemicals and energy behemoth Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) had made a takeover offer for engineering plastics producer Covestro.
Colombia-based company Cali Food Papers started with new product line named Ecopapel that offers biodegradable, compostable and recyclable paper- and cardboard-based packaging for food.
On behalf of the Finnish government, refiner Neste is spearheading the development of a so-called industrial hydrogen valley in the country’s Uusimaa region. Other participants in the recently begun exploratory studies include energy utilities Gasgrid Finland, Helen and Vantaa Energy.
Methanol Chemicals – known as Chemanol – a Saudi Arabian producer of methanol and derivatives, has signed agreements to acquire controlling stakes in two compatriot chemical companies.
Brenntag is to acquire Chinese distributor Shanghai Saifu Chemical Development for an undisclosed sum. The transaction is expected to close later this year.
The US Federal Trade Commission’s lawsuit to potentially block the $27.8 merger of Amgen and Horizon Therapeutics is creating heightened concern in the international biopharma sector.
Belgian chemical company Solvay is splitting up into two separate entities.
BASF has broken ground for its new 50,000 t/y polyethylene plant due to go on stream at its integrated production site in Zhanjiang, China, in 2025. The new facility will be its first PE unit in the People’s Republic.
Shell is reviewing operations in Singapore, with a view to repurposing, selling or decommissioning assets in Bukom and Jurong Island. The energy and chemicals giant will also “high-grade and right-size” its energy and chemicals parks in Europe, which could mean plant closures.
IMCD has agreed to buy Brylchem Group, comprising Brylchem in Singapore and Chemipac and CMS Marketing Trading in Vietnam. Brylchem has roughly 50 employees and generated revenue of about €58 million last year. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2023.
Bayer has agreed to pay nearly $7 million to settle false advertising claims alleged by New York’s state attorney general. The state said the German agrochemicals and pharma group misled consumers by asserting that its Roundup herbicide is harmless and safer than soap or detergent.
US biotech Promosome has filed a lawsuit in federal court in San Diego, California accusing Moderna, Pfizer and BioNTech of infringing its intellectual patent rights relating to the mRNA technology used in their Covid-19 vaccines. Promosome is seeking a share of the royalties.
South Korean CDMO Samsung Biologics has entered into a long-term manufacturing partnership with major drugmaker Pfizer.
Axens has signed an agreement with KazMunayGas (KMG) to supply the process design package for its proprietary AlphaButol technology for producing high-purity 1-butene, which is required for producing PE. KMG has plans for a 1.2 million t/y PE plant in Atyrau, Kazakhstan.
Univar Solutions has reported that its proposed takeover by Apollo Global Management’s is making progress, with regulatory approvals now secured from the EU, the US, Canada, Brazil, Mexico and China. In addition, the Italian regulator has given its foreign direct investment approval.
Johnson Matthey is providing its butanediol (BDO) technology to China’s Fujian Zhongjing Petrochemical, which plans to build three new plants in phases. The BDO will be used as feedstock for producing 600,000 t/y of biodegradable plastic polybutylene adipate terephthalate.
Solvay is partnering with Italian gases group Sapio to develop green hydrogen peroxide at its site in Rosignano, Italy. A 756 t/y green hydrogen plant will be built by mid-2026, cutting CO2 emissions for peroxides-related operations at the site by 15%.
Activist investors continue to pile pressure on Brenntag. Both Engine and PrimeStone have openly rejected Brenntag’s proposed two new supervisory board members – Richard Ridinger and Sujatha Chandrasekaran – who are up for election at Brenntag’s annual meeting on Jun. 15.
