Catalysts
HP Construction: North America
Westlake Chemical Corp. will perform planned maintenance and an expansion of the Petro 2 ethylene unit at its complex in Lake Charles, Louisiana, in the first quarter of 2013. This expansion will incr..
South America: Argentina
For nine consecutive years (2003–2011), the Argentinean gross domestic product (GDP) continued to increase at an impressive annual rate of 7% to 8%. However, this trend was expected to change in ..
Europe: Germany
The German chemical industry has an outstanding position inside Europe. Nearly 25% of chemical product sales in the European Union (EU) are by German chemical companies. Ranking behind China, the US a..
Asia: China
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced in its January 2012 “World Economic Outlook” that the global GDP growth rate was 3.8% in 2011. However, Asian-Pacific nations bucked this tren..
South America: Venezuela
Fig. 1 illustrates the annual gross domestic product (GDP) and inflation from 2006 to 2011 for Venezuela. High crude oil prices have helped domestic GDP growth, suggesting a healthy economy. ..
South America: Brazil
Brazil’s economic improvement was remarkable over the past decade, following many years of slow growth. On average, the Brazilian gross output of goods and services increased at an annual average..
Asia: India
The Indian economy has come a long way since the 1991 economic reforms. A decade and a half of economic reform and globalization is yielding returns that cut across all income groups. The domestic eco..
Asia: Japan
The Japanese economy showed steady recovery for 2003–2007. However, due to the global recession in late 2008, Japan’s GDP growth decreased to –1% in 2008 and to –5.5% in 2009. Due ..
Europe: United Kingdom
The United Kingdom (UK) is Europe’s fourth largest chemical economy, after Germany, France and Italy. It accounts for 8% of the European Union’s (EU’s) $900 billion overall chemical pro..
WR Grace acquires China catalysts firm Noblestar
WR Grace officially acquired Noblestar Catalysts, a Qingdao, China-based manufacturer of FCC catalysts, catalyst intermediates and related refining industry products. Grace said it expects to make additional investments at the site for environmental, safety and manufacturing upgrades.
- Valero Energy Q4 profit beats estimates; shares surge 1/30
- Dow launches "Transform to Outperform" to raise the competitive industry benchmark for productivity and growth to enable improved returns 1/30
- Russian oil refineries' peak maintenance expected in January and September 1/30
- U.S. lifts some Venezuela sanctions to ease oil sales 1/30
- Keppel, Aster plan sustainable aviation fuel project in Singapore 1/30
- Boeing, Israel's Technion to develop sustainable aviation fuel, as sector grapples with 2050 goal 1/30

