-Chevron Phillips Chemical completed an ethylene expansion at its Sweeny complex in Old Ocean, Texas. The addition of a 10th furnace to ethylene unit 33 is expected to boost annual ethylene production by 200 million pounds. Construction began last year.
-The U.S. chemical industry grew by 2% this year and is expected to grow further in the next two years as the shale boom continues to provide cost-advantaged feedstock to manufacturers. The American Chemistry Council (ACC) said the chemical industry would reach a 3.7% gain in output next year and hit 3.9% in 2016. ACC President and CEO Cal Dooley said the U.S. remains the “most attractive place in the world to invest in chemical manufacturing.”
-Magellan Midstream Partners secured final EPA greenhouse gas permits for its proposed $250 million condensate splitter in Corpus Christi, Texas. Via FuelFix, the company is now awaiting an additional permit from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for the 50,000-barrel-per-day unit.
-A new study by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) found that removing the U.S. ban on oil exports would boost the economy by incentivizing domestic production and putting downward pressure on gasoline prices. The CBO said gasoline prices could drop by as much as 10 cents per gallon. Many lawmakers have been reluctant to embrace removing the ban out of fear it would increase the amount Americans pay at the pump.
-Dow Chemical Chief Human Resources Officer, Aviation and Corporate Affairs Gregory Freiwald will retire in March, the company announced today. Johanna Söderström, who currently serves as vice president of Dow’s HR Center of Expertise, will succeed him. A 15-year Dow veteran, Söderström has also served as global HR director for Dow’s Performance Materials division and as HR director for Dow Europe, Middle East & Africa. Freiwald has held numerous human resource leadership roles since joining Dow in 1979.
