Manufacturer

Steel manufacturer Nucor Corp. said it will spend more than $700 million during a two-year period on natural gas drilling in order to meet its contractual obligations with Encana Corp. for a supply of low-cost natural gas.

Differentiated chemicals manufacturer Huntsman Corp. said it will increase capacity at its Geismar, LA, worldscale methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) facilities. Capacity will be increased by 50,000 tons to 500,000 tons using improved process technology developed by Huntsman and will enable the company to support growth of its key customers and leverage the advantages of the Geismar site and its access to U.S. shale gas, strong logistics base and excellent integration, Huntsman said. “The benefits of U.S. shale gas have significantly improved the economics of investing in U.S. facilities, and Huntsman has a number of other investments planned which will take advantage of lower-cost natural gas,” said Anthony Hankins, president of Huntsman polyurethanes. The new capacity is expected to come on-stream in 2014 and will further consolidate Huntsman’s position as the leading MDI producer in the Americas region, the company said. Huntsman also said it will upgrade its downstream specialties production capability at its Rotterdam, the Netherlands site. The cost of the two projects is $135 million.

CF Industries Holdings Inc., an agricultural fertilizer manufacturer and distributor, reported record third quarter earnings on Tuesday and said low natural gas costs were part of a favorable outlook for 2013.

As a hedge against higher natural gas prices, a subsidiary of LSB Industries Inc., an Oklahoma-based chemical and equipment manufacturer, has bought an interest in a package of wells and potential drilling locations in Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale.

Japanese chemical manufacturer Kuraray Co. Ltd. announced Tuesday that it plans to take advantage of an abundance of shale gas in the United States and will build a $10.1 million facility in Texas to produce plastic.

The natural gas vehicle (NGV) fueling kit manufacturer at Clean Energy Fuels Corp., BAF, has received approval from the California Air Resources Board (CARB) for its compression natural gas (CNG) conversion kits used on 2012 Ford F-Series 250/350 pickup trucks and E-Series 250/350 vans. CARB’s OK means the NGVs can now be sold in California. BAF is the first CNG converter in the nation to receive CARB’s certification for F-Series pickups. CNG-powered BAF E-250/350 van are already in wide use among service providers such as AT&T and Super Shuttle, and have been certified by CARB since 2007; now the certification is extended to include 2012 models. The latest NGV certification adds to permits BAF already has from CARB for several other Ford models, and it has federal Environmental Protection Agency certification for all of the models.

Navistar Inc., a major manufacturer of medium- and heavy-duty trucks, and natural gas transportation fuel and infrastructure leader Clean Energy Fuels Corp. said Wednesday their new strategic partnership will make it easier for truck fleet operators to switch to vehicles powered by either compressed natural gas (CNG) or liquefied natural gas (LNG).

French manufacturer Vallourec SA said progress is continuing on a $650 million steel mill it is building in Youngstown, OH to produce seamless pipes for use in hydraulic fracturing (fracking). The seamless hot rolling pipe mill of subsidiary V&M Star plans to create about 350 direct jobs and have initial production of 350,000 tons/year, but it can be expanded to 500,000 tons/year. Production is expected to ramp up in the next few months. According to Vallourec, the new mill would produce 2 3/8-inch to 7-inch diameter pipe for use in fracking operations. The company said it wants to support customers in shale plays across the continent; it has field offices in the Marcellus, Utica, Haynesville and Barnett shales and in the Piceance Basin.

Bluescape Resources Co. LLC (BRC) is under way with the construction of a 52-mile natural gas pipeline in West Virginia, a structure that the company hopes will one day connect future production from its wells in the Marcellus Shale with the marketplace.