Chevron Phillips Chemical Co. LP has selected a site at Old Ocean, Tex., near its Sweeny petrochemical complex for two new polyethylene plants with capacities of 1.1 billion lb/year each.

Abu Dhabi National Chemicals Co. has let a contract to Foster Wheeler’s Global Engineering & Construction Group covering production management consultancy services for an aromatics complex at Ruwais, Abu Dhabi.

Dow Chemical Co. announced plans to build a 1.5-million tonne/year ethylene plant at its Texas operations in Freeport under a strategy reported a year ago of integrating US operations with feedstocks available from increasing production of natural gas from shales.

Saudi Basic Industries Corp. has let a contract to Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. for the upgrade of its 670,000-tonne/year Olefins 4 plant in Geleen, Netherlands.

INEOS Olefins & Polymers USA has let a contract to KBR for a new ethylene furnace at its 3.86 billion lb/year ethylene plant at Alvin, Tex.

Williams Olefins LLC has let a contract to CB&I for services related to expansion of its Geismar, La., petrochemical plant (OGJ Online, Jan. 4, 2012).

Chevron Phillips Chemical Co. LP will build the world’s largest on-purpose 1-hexene plant at its Cedar Bayou Chemical Complex in Baytown, Tex., using proprietary technology.

HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd. (HMEL) has commissioned its 180,000-b/d, zero-bottoms Guru Gobind Singh Refinery near Bathinda in the northern Indian state of Punjab.

The US Environmental Protection Agency proposed national uniform emissions standards for hazardous air pollutants at refineries and petrochemical plants’ storage vessel and transfer operations, equipment leaks, or control devices.

Shell Chemical LP is studying land near Monaca, Penn., for the petrochemical complex it is considering to use ethane from natural gas produced from the Marcellus shale (OGJ Online, June 6, 2011).

Total SA has signed a memorandum of understanding with two wholly owned subsidiaries of Kuwait Petroleum Corp. to participate in a refining and petrochemical complex planned in Zhanjiang, China, in partnership with China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (Sinopec; OGJ Online, Aug. 11, 2009).

State-owned Petronas has let a front-end engineering design contract to Technip for its proposed refinery and petrochemical project at Pengerang in Johor, Malaysia (OGJ Online, May 13, 2011).

The refining and petrochemical industries benefit the US, and their representatives must rebuke misleading criticisms from politicians so that the general public hears the facts, leaders of the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (formerly the National Petrochemical & Refiners Association) said Mar. 12 during an opening session of the AFPM annual meeting in San Diego.