Advantages

Global ethylene demand will grow by about 90 million tons (60%) over the next 15 years, and “the U.S. Gulf Coast is in pole position for this feedstock-driven capacity growth,” the CEO of a logistics provider to the chemical industry told a Houston audience Wednesday.

Compressed natural gas (CNG) hit the road again in New York state Thursday. Vermont-based NG Advantage LLC signed an 18-month contract extension with International Paper’s Ticonderoga, NY, paper mill to continue fueling its operations with CNG (see Daily GPI,April 23).

Lauding General Motors Corp. and the Chrysler Group, Range Resources Corp. senior officials on Wednesday declared their fleet operations in Pennsylvania, Oklahoma and other states now operate almost entirely on natural gas.

While a majority of Californians support curbs on hydraulic fracturing (fracking), when they are aware of the economic advantages coming from the drilling practice a majority (56%) supports its use, according to a statewide public opinion survey released last Friday.

The costly and complex decision to shift from being one of the biggest natural gas producers to becoming one of the largest liquids operators showed some positives for Chesapeake Energy Corp. in the first three months of this year, which also gained on improving natural gas prices.

As a formal set of proposed rules on hydraulic fracturing (fracking) moves through preliminary public review in California, Gov. Jerry Brown last Wednesday expressed confidence that his state’s oil and gas regulators would apply “science and common sense” to frack regulations.

The petrochemical industry in the United States is poised for a “spectacular comeback,” thanks to an abundant supply of feedstock from shale reserves, industry analysts with GlobalData said Monday.

Alaska’s Port Valdez in Prince William Sound has a number of advantages over the Cook Inlet as the site for a liquefied natural gas (LNG) liquefaction and export facility that could one day export 15-20 million metric tons per year of Alaska-sourced LNG to Asian markets, according to a recent study.

Alaska’s Port Valdez in Prince William Sound has a number of advantages over the Cook Inlet as the site for a liquefied natural gas (LNG) liquefaction and export facility that could one day export 15-20 million metric tons per year of Alaska-sourced LNG to Asian markets, according to a recent study.