Chemical

The two organizations that jointly run FracFocus.org, the national registry that provides the public with a list of chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing (fracking), said several improvements will be made to the system this year.

Chemicals producer Stepan Co. is beginning engineering and design work for a potential $60-70 million chemical production facility to be built in Ascension Parish, LA, to take advantage of the Gulf Coast region’s abundance of natural gas and burgeoning chemicals industry.

A group backed by Chinese investors is considering developing a large methanol production and export facility at Shoal Point in Texas City, TX, in Galveston County.

Louisiana has landed a methanol manufacturing complex thanks to its proximity to inexpensive natural gas.

ExxonMobil Chemical Co. has begun construction of an ethane cracker at its Baytown, TX, complex as well as associated product facilities at Mont Belvieu, TX.

In an industry in which low-cost feedstock is key, North Dakota’s wealth of natural gas liquids (NGL) makes the state a natural candidate for the development of downstream opportunities in the chemicals industry and all of its offshoots, a researcher/consultant said Wednesday at the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference in Bismarck, ND. Ultimately, the model is to do what Alberta, Canada did two decades ago and bring in global partners already in the chemical business.

The bio-based chemical market has joined the army of sectors to benefit from the North American natural gas boom, an analysis by IHS Inc. has found.

Baker Hughes Inc. said it plans to disclose 100% of the chemical ingredients it uses in hydraulic fracturing (fracking) fluids by providing “complete lists” of the products used, but there could be exemptions.

Researchers unveiled Thursday a cheaper, easier and cleaner means of producing liquid alcohol from natural gas, which can be converted to substitutes for oil-based fuels. The breakthrough, they said, has the potential to reset the nation's energy markets.