-Williams has once again delayed ethylene sales from its rebuilt Geismar, La., olefins plant due to an unexpected maintenance setback, the Oil & Gas Journal reports. Williams stopped final ramp-up upon discovering a heat exchanger had become plugged and needed cleaning and maintenance. The maintenance work is now complete, and ethylene sales will resume this month.
-The EPA today said the Keystone XL pipeline would significantly increase greenhouse gas emissions from Canada’s oil sands operations. The finding contradicts an environmental impact report done last year by the State Department. President Obama has said he would not sign off on the project if it were found to cause harm to the environment. He has also vowed to veto legislation recently passed by both chambers of Congress that would approve Keystone XL.
-BP may close some of its chemical capacity in the U.S. and Asia and defer Gulf of Mexico projects such as Mad Dog as it slashes spending, the company said today. Via Bloomberg, BP expects to cut spending by $3 billion this year amid low oil prices and impending fines connected to the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The company recently announced it would freeze employee pay and has cut jobs in various locations.
-Eastman Chemical is considering shutting down its acetate tow facility in Workington, UK. The company said it needs less capacity to supply acetate tow to its customers due to recent and announced global capacity additions. Eastman also has acetate tow facilities in Kingsport, Tenn., and Ulsan, Korea.
-Dow Chemical completed the sale of ANGUS Chemical Co. to Golden Gate Capital and the sale of its sodium borohydride business to Vertellus Performance Chemicals. The deals will bring a total of $1.4 billion in proceeds to Dow. The sales are part of Dow’s ongoing effort to divest at least $7 billion in global assets.
