Geismar

Fed by ample natural gas stocks, Shell Chemical LP has begun producing from its fourth alpha olefins (AO) unit at its Geismar, LA, chemical manufacturing site, bringing total output to more than 1.3 million metric tons/year (mmty).

Williams Partners LP is selling all of its interest in Williams Olefins LLC, which owns an 88.46% stake in the Geismar, LA, olefins plant and associated complex, to Nova Chemicals for $2.1 billion in cash.

Williams Partners LP is considering selling its interest in the Geismar, LA, olefins plant and complex. The process might result in a sale or a long-term, fee-for-service tolling agreement, the company said.

A unit of Royal Dutch Shell plc plans to begin construction early next year on a $717 million expansion at its Geismar campus in Ascension Parish, LA, which would make the site the largest alpha olefins (AO) producer in the world.

Six months after its restart, the Geismar, LA, olefins plant is up to 87% of its full expanded production rate, Williams Partners LP said late Thursday.

Six months after its restart, the Geismar, LA, olefins plant is up to 87% of its full expanded production rate, Williams Partners LP said late Thursday.

Williams and its pipeline unit reported that earnings in the second quarter fell 28% from a year ago amid declining natural gas liquids (NGL) and olefin margins, and the impact from yet another big delay in restarting its major plant in Geismar, LA.

The Geismar olefins plant operated by Williams northwest of New Orleans, which has been shuttered for almost a year, is scheduled to restart in June, with expansion plans back on the table, management said Thursday.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has upheld a ruling by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia that found the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) did not act illegally in promulgating Dodd-Frank regulations. The Investment Company Institute and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce brought the action against the CFTC, arguing that the adopted regulations applying to derivatives trading were unlawfully adopted and invalid. The district court “granted summary judgment in favor of the Commission. Because we agree with the district court that the Commission did not act unlawfully in promulgating the regulations, we affirm,” ruled the appeals court. Specifically, the two groups challenged a rule that would subject registered investment companies (RIC) engaged in derivatives trading to many of the Dodd-Frank requirements. Prior to 2003, RICs engaged in rare derivatives trading activities, but that has since changed, according to the CFTC. It is the agency’s latest legal victory with respect to its Dodd-Frank regulation of the $300 trillion.