Chemical

About 40% of the U.S. chemical industry investment being spurred by the American shale gas revolution is either completed or under way, with another 55% in the planning phase, according to the American Chemistry Council (ACC).

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.

Westlake Chemical Partners LP said it is proceeding with plans to expand ethylene production capacity at its Calvert City, KY, facility.

There might be blood in the shale patch, but downstream there’s cheap fuel and feedstock continuing to support a Gulf Coast petrochemical renaissance that is projected to grow production capacities for ethylene and derivatives substantially in the coming years.

An oilfield chemistry facility owned by Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s Lubrizol Corp. was destroyed by a fire on Tuesday in Southwest Pennsylvania. Eight people, including firefighters and Lubrizol employees, were treated for non-life threatening injuries.

After more than three years, Shell Chemical Appalachia LLC has completed its purchase of land in western Pennsylvania where it tentatively plans to build a multi-billion dollar ethane cracker.

After more than three years, Shell Chemical Appalachia LLC has completed its purchase of land in western Pennsylvania where it tentatively plans to build a multi-billion dollar ethane cracker.

The U.S. plastics industry is expected to grow rapidly over the next decade, fueled by cheap and abundant shale natural gas that’s made it more competitive with overseas markets, according to a report by economists at the American Chemistry Council (ACC).

The U.S. plastics industry is expected to grow rapidly over the next decade, fueled by cheap and abundant shale natural gas that's made it more competitive with overseas markets, according to a report by economists at the American Chemistry Council.