Dow Chemical awarded USD2.16 billion in arbitration with Kuwait company

(upstreamonline) -- An international arbitration panel has ruled that Dow Chemical Co., the largest U.S. chemical maker by sales, is to be awarded USD2.16 billion in damages after a Kuwait company canceled a 2008 agreement to buy a stake in the company’s plastics business.

Midland, Mich.-based Dow put together a USD17.4 billion joint venture with Petrochemical Industries Co. (PIC), a subsidiary of state-owned Kuwait Petroleum Corp., to produce plastics for consumer products, automotive parts, and drug processing in 2008.

But as commodity prices plunged and the global economy went into a recession, the so-called K-Dow Petrochemicals joint venture was scrapped just days before it was set to close. Two months after the deal collapsed, Dow posted losses of USD1.55 billion for the fourth-quarter of 2008 and cut about 11 per cent of its global work force.

The International Court of Arbitration in Paris ruled that PIC will pay Dow for backing out of the deal. The court is part of the International Chamber of Commerce.

“This outcome brings resolution and closure to the issue,” Dow chairman and CEO Andrew Liveris said in a news release. "We remain focused on continuing to move forward with our transformation and profitable business partnerships — both in Kuwait and around the world."
MRC

(chemmonitor) -- Bulk Handling Systems with headquarters in the USA purchased another US-based manufacturer engaged in the polyethylene terephthalate (PET) equipment market activity.

The latter one operates under the title of National Recovery Technologies Inc., while the buyer is a renowned supplier of solid waste sorting systems utilized in material recovery units.
MRC

(chemmonitor) -- Asian prices for monoethylene glycol (MEG) demonstrated a certain increase early this month in CFR China deals. They moved up by USD 30 per tonne day on day on May 2.

The values maintained stability on May 3, but started to move down a day later. Asian traders lowered their nominations by USD 30 per tonne within a two-day period. The downsurge was mainly attributed to weaker downstream numbers.

A series of insignificant price drops and increases took place from May 8 through May 14.
MRC

(plastemart) -- With North American producers down-adjusting their export PVC offers due to persistent weak demand in global markets, lower offers from the region have started to be seen in several regions including Mediterranean and Asia.

However, there is still limited buying interest as buyers are reluctant to commit to cargoes from long distances amid generally bearish outlook.

In Turkey, PVC k67 offers out of the US are reported USD20-30/ton lower this week, breaking below a new threshold. A trader said, "We heard that there are some US PVC offers in the market at lower levels with a deferred payment term provided for one year. So we have decided to withdraw our offers." Players generally comment that traders offering US materials are shying away from making large price cuts as they acknowledge that buying interest remains subdued and lower prices fail to pull buyers back to the market. However, some players argue, "Sellers are ready to give discounts in order to conclude deals."

In Egypt, where US materials are generally in a dominating position for imports, lower offers have also shown up from the region. This week’s range for US PVC suggests an approximate decrease of USD10/ton at the high end and a larger decrease of USD30/ton at the low end. As it is the case in the Turkish market, a buyer said, "Sellers of US materials do not want to sell below a certain threshold and therefore, they are planning to withdraw their offers."

Nevertheless, Egyptian buyers continue to expect further softening in import prices pointing to the bearish sentiment across the globe as well as lower feedstock costs.
MRC

(hydracarbonprocessing) -- Union workers have called a strike at Husky Energy’s refinery in Lima, Ohio, leaving the refiner's management to run the 150,000 bpd plant, the union said Friday.

About 235 members of the United Steelworkers union walked off the job after failing to reach a contract agreement.
The union filed 23 unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board against the company, national USW spokeswoman Lynne Hancock said.

A Husky spokesman was not immediately available.
The refinery produces about 2 billion gal/year of refined fuel, including about a quarter of the gasolineconsumed in the state of Ohio. The local union "still believes there is room to negotiate," Hancock said.


MRC