-BP is expected to restart its purified terephthalic acid (PTA) plant in Cooper River, S.C., at the end of this month or early March, Platts reports. The plant shut down one of its two PTA lines in August after a fire and idled the other in October due to oxidation issues. BP announced in November it would upgrade the PTA1 unit in Cooper River by mid-2016.
-Shell and the United Steelworkers union will resume contract renewal talks on Tuesday, Reuters reports. Workers at BP’s Whiting, Ind., refinery and its joint-venture plant in Toledo, Ohio, joined the strike over the weekend.
-The rising value of the dollar could delay plans for some major petrochemical projects in the U.S., the Baton Rouge, La., Advocate reports. Slow economic growth in Europe and Asia has already reduced demand for U.S. chemicals, and the oil price plunge has eaten into the cost advantage U.S. manufacturers enjoy due to low feedstock costs. LSU Center for Energy Studies Executive Director David Dismukes notes that no chemical companies have announced project delays, suggesting they believe low oil prices and the global economic slowdown are temporary.
-Russia has proposed a U.N. resolution that would impose sanctions on individuals and corporations trading oil with ISIS and other terrorist groups. ISIS is believed to be selling oil through Turkish and Kurdish middlemen, who resell it in Turkey and, in some cases, to the Syrian government. The Iraq Energy Institute recently estimated that ISIS earns $1 million per day from black market oil sales.
-NGL Energy Partners agreed to acquire Magnum NGLs for $280 million. Magnum owns and operates an NGL storage facility with potential capacity of over 10 million barrels near Salt Lake City. NGL Energy said the acquisition would help it better serve its customers in the western U.S.
Photo: BP p.l.c.
