VENEZUELA

Gail India Plans Petchem Project in Colombia
Gail India (New Delhi) plans to set up a ‘mega’ petrochemical plant in Colombia, and Reliance Industries could be a partner in the...

Pequiven and Braskem to Decide on Cracker Technology
Pequiven and Braskem (São Paulo) say they will decide within two months which technology they will select for a previously announced 1.3-million m.t./year...

Latin America Streamlines; Firms Forge Stronger Links to Refining
Intensified Latin American M&A activity last year created a more streamlined regional petchem sector with remaining players better able to invest in upgrades and new facilities, experts say (CW, Nov. 14, 2007. p. 19). This year, however, continued...

Latin America
Further details on the many mega-crackers planned for Latin America are expected to emerge this year, although it will likely remain unclear which of those projects will go forward, analysts say. State-owned and private companies have announced plans in...

KBR Awarded Contract For Pequiven Ammonia Plant
KBR (Houston) says it has been awarded a $57-million contract by MAN Ferrostaal (MFS) to provide basic and detailed engineering...

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BRAZIL

Braskem Exits PET Business
Braskem says it will close permanently its polyethylene terephthalate (PET) unit at the Camaçari, Brazil petrochemical complex by the end of 2008, and exit the business because it is no longer viable. The...

Pequiven, Braskem Pick Technologies for Jose Complex
Polimerica (Caracas), a joint venture between Pequiven (Caracas) and Braskem (São Paulo), has selected technologies for three polyethylene (PE) units that will form part of a previously announced integrated petrochemicals complex at Jose, Venezuela...

Symrise Boosts Citrus Portfolio
Symrise says it has opened a citrus center at its Sorocaba, Brazil. The company will develop and manufacture...

Kemira Buys Water Treatment Firm
Brazilian antitrust authorities have approved Kemira’s acquisition of water treatment firm Nheel Quimmica (Rio Claro, Brazil)...

APLA: Latin American Firms Brace for a Difficult 2009
Latin American countries are bracing for a difficult 2009 as  regional GDP growth is expected to be far lower than earlier predictions, according to speakers at the Latin American Petrochemical Association (APLA) annual meeting, being held in Rio de...

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ARGENTINA

Brenntag Buys Argentine Distributor
Brenntag says it has acquired the chemical distribution assets of polyurethane and industrial chemical distributor Inquimex (Buenos Aires) for an undisclosed sum. Inquimex’s customers include Dow Chemical in Argentina and Profertil (Buenos Aires). The...

Syngenta Buys Argentine Seeds Firm
Syngenta says it has agreed to acquire SPS Argentina (Buenos Aires), a corn, soybean, and sunflower seed company. Terms were not...

Gail India Plans Petchem Project in Colombia
Gail India (New Delhi) plans to set up a ‘mega’ petrochemical plant in Colombia, and Reliance Industries could be a partner in the...

Shell and ExxonMobil Scrap Plans to Divest Infineum...
Shell and ExxonMobil say they have abandoned plans to divest Infineum International (Milton Hill, U.K.), their 50-50 fuel and lubricant additives joint venture. Shell and ExxonMobil announced last March that they were considering options for Infineum...

First-Quarter Earnings Fall at Total, Rhodia, and Solvay
Rhodia, Solvay, and Total posted declines in first-quarter net income, mainly because of higher raw material costs and unfavorable currency exchange rates. Selling price hikes were not enough to offset rising cost in all markets, producers say. Total...

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