News

13. June 2008

■Toyota Motor Thailand and PTT Co-Develop Second-Generation Bio Diesel
Toyota Motor Thailand Co.,Ltd, PTT group and Kasetsart University (Thailand) have been working on the development of first-generation bio fuel made from jatropha and palm for the last few years. ...to read more, please login!!

6. June 2008

■World agrichemical market in 2007 amounted to US $33.4 billion, increased by 10%
World agri-chemical market amounted to US $33.39 billion, 10 percent increase over the preceding year. ...to read more, please login!!

7. April 2008

■P&G established a plant in Singapore
On 5^th March, P&G established a fragrance plant for consumer products in Singapore. This plant became the first bases in Asia followed by the U.S, Swiss, Japan, France, Germany, and Mexico....to read more, please login!!

■Palm oil is operated in Indonesia
PTT Group of Thailand embarks on the consistent palm oil business from plantation to refining factory in Indonesia. This project is invested to Indonesia through the new company PTT Green Energy Co (PTTGE), which is established last year. ...to read more, please login!!

■R&H align with Group Novasep
Rohm and Haas forms an affiliation with Group Novasep for marketing and sales of their new technology. On the global market, both companies provide its new technology for refining crude glycerine that is replicated in the course of refinement of biodiesel....to read more, please login!!

21. December 2007

■Neste Oil builds the largest biodisel plant in Singapore
Neste Oil Corporation has a plan to build the largest biodiesel production plant over the world in Tuas industrial area, Singapore, with an investment of 550 billion euro...to read more, please login!!

1. November 2007

■Huntsman to support RBF biodiesel project
In a deal signed in July, major chemicals player Huntsman has teamed with biodiesel producer RBF to set up and operate a large-scale biodiesel plant, to be located at Huntsman's chemical complex at Port Neches, Texas, US....to read more, please login!!

■ADM plant ready to go
ADM has announced that it plans to start production at its 300,000 tons/year biodiesel production facility at Rondopolis, Mato Grosso, Brazil, in August. ...to read more, please login!!

■Lion to produce MES in Malaysia
Lion Corporation of Japan announced in May that a new subsidiary, Lion Oleochemicals (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, would be set up to produce methyl ester sulphonates (MES) from palm oil. ...to read more, please login!!

■Davy signs licensing agreement
Ashland Inc and Cargill announced in July that they had entered into a licensing agreement with Davy Process Technology Ltd. The licence is for Davy's proprietary gas-phase hydrogenation technology, which will be used to...to read more, please login!!

■Market fundamentals camouflaged by biofuels subsidies
For once, despite all the doom and gloom that seems to pervade the chemical industry in general, there seems to be some causes for optimism. At this stage,many readers will undoubtedly question the sanity of the writer, but ...to read more, please login!!

Abob 5 articles are from OFI, September 2007 issue

28. September 2007

■IN BRIEF
JAPAN: The merger of Toshoku Ltd and Cargill Japan Ltd has been approved by.....
BRAZIL: National energy company Petrobras is building three biodiesel plants due to.....
PHILIPPINES: State-owned PNOC Alternative Fuels Corp has signed a US$1.3bn deal with.....
PERU: The country’s largest biodiesel producer, Interpacific Oil, which produces.....
...to read more, please login!!

■Oleochemical pricing hit by biofuels
Biofuels continue to cause problems for oleochermicals - the inexorable rise in production and new intentions are fuelling higher vegetable oil prices....to read more, please login!!

Abobe 2 articles are from OFI, July 2007 issue

12. September 2007

■Next generation Neste unit inaugurated
Neste Oil, the Finnish petroleum refiner, officially inaugurated its new 'second generation' biodiesel production facility at Porvoo, Finland, at the end of May....to read more, please login!!

■Large-scale biodiesel on-stream
In conjunction with Chevron Technology Ventures, BioSelect Fuels, a division of Standard Renewable Energy, has brought on-stream one of the first large-scale biodiesel production facilities in North America, at Galveston, Texas. ...to read more, please login!!

■Sasol takes olefins and surfactants arm off the shelf
Almost two years after putting it up for sale, Sasol has finally accepted the inevitable and removed the 'for sale' sign from its olefins and surfactants business. Even after writing down the assets, no buyer could be found that offered 'fair value', it said...to read more, please login!!

Above 3 articles are from OFI, July 2007 issue

29. August 2007

■FOSFA simplifies FAME trading
To reflect usage for biodiesel, new FOSFA contracts for trade in fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) specifically refer to EU standard ...to read more, please login!!

■IFFCO group buys half share in Felda
Malaysia's Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) has sold a half interest in its Port Klang palrn oil refinery to the IFFCO group, a leading regional player in the edible oils markets of Asia and the Middle East...to read more, please login!!

■Cargill and ADM announce further milestones for renewable plastics
Cargill and ADM have reached further milestones in their drives to produce plastics and polymers from renewable resources...to read more, please login!!

Above 3 articles are from OFI, July 2007 issue

28. August 2007

■University powers mobile phone with glycerine
A project at St Louis University in Missouri, USA is developing a fuel cell that uses enzymatic activity on glycerine to produce electricity, reports Chemistry World...to read more, please login!!

■Glycerine utilised as feedstock
In recent months, more mainstream chemical companies have announced intentions to make products previously understood to be petrochemicals from glycerine...to read more, please login!!

Above 2 articles are from OFI, July 2007 issue

5. July 2007

■US renderer goes for multi-feed
Sanimax Energy, a subsidiary of the major US renderer Sanimax, began operation of a multi-feedstock biodiesel production unit at De Forest, Wisconsin, US, in March...to read more, please login!!

■A recent survey conducted by the Nogales Technical Institute in Arizona revealed that 53% of local restaurants were throwing their used cooking oils down the drain...to read more, please login!!

■US retailer starts biodiesel sales
Safeway Inc, one of the largest food and drug retailers in the US with more than 1,750 branches, launched retail sales of biodiesel at one of its retail outlets in Seattle, Washington state, in February...to read more, please login!!

■Biofuels taskforce in the Philippines
In the Philippines, the Department I of Agriculture - as one of the key government agencies charged with the task of drawing up the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the Biofuels Act (Act 9367)...to read more, please login!!

■According to local reports, the water-efficient crop sorghum is being considered as a raw material for bioethanol production...to read more, please login!!

Above 5 articles is from OFI, May 2007 issue

27. June 2007

■Cargill chief calls for an end to biofuel subsidies
 The incoming chief executive of Cargill has plunged into the food-versus-fuel debate in the US by calling for the subsidies and tax breaks on ethanol production to be scrapped, ...to read more, please login!!

■Signs of new momentum for the Doha Round since the Davos economics meeting in January (see OR, News, March 2007), have prompted parties among all key player groups to express hopes that ...to read more, please login!!

■Indonesia to ship biodiesel to the US
 PT Sumi Asih OleoChemical, a company based in Jakarta, Indonesia, but which has Chinese backing, announced to the Asian press in March...to read more, please login!!

Above 3 articles is from OFI, May 2007 issue

13. April 2007

■Trans fat fever grips US
 In December, New York City’s broad of health voted to ban the use of trans fats in restaurants in the city – from gourmet eateries to fast food outlets – in a phased programme....to read more, please login!!

■Trans Fat drives nutrition dialogue
 When the FDA trans fat labeling went into effect on January 1, 2006, no one suspected the issue would heat up not only for food manufacturers, but for restaurateurs as well....to read more, please login!!

Above 2 articles is from OFI, March 2007 issue

5. April 2007

■Palm oil hub puts Sandakan on the map
The state of Sabah, which has the largest plated oil palm area in Malaysia, has potential to become a leading regional hub for the oil palm industry. Three areas have been designated to be developed as a Palm Oil Industrial Cluster (POIC) in Sabah – Lahad Datu, Sandakan and Kimanis....to read more, please login!!

■A greener kind of make-up
Speciality chemical company Degussa set out to test the environmental impact of producing cosmetic esters and found the enzymatic process was greener and made higher purity products than the conventional process...to read more, please login!!

Above 2 articles is from OFI, March 2007 issue

2. April 2007

■Glycerine market sees effects of biodiesel
This year, half of the world’s glycerine supply will come from biodiesel and by 2010, world supply of glycerine will be close to 2.5M tonne. Falling glycerine prices have stimulated demand for refined glycerine in premium uses and may open up new avenues for glycerine as a chemical feedstocks. ...to read more, please login!!

Above an article is from OFI, March 2007 issue

15. March 2007

■New Act to be imposed to allow ministry to revoke biodiesel licenses
 Once Biofuel Industrial Act is passed in May, The Plantation Industries and Commodities Ministry will have power to revoke licenses issued for biodiesel plants. The bill will be tabled in the Parliament in mid-April...to read more, please login!!

■Tanjung Langsat port for Biodiesel Hub
 Malaysia, Johor Baru, Tanjung Langsat port is set to become a biodiesel hub for both domestic and international used by the Iskandar Development Region (IDR). Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Peter Chin Fah Kui, after a high-powered meeting with the state government said...to read more, please login!!

13. March 2007

■Thai state oil PTT, making a price of biofuel reduction
 Thai state oil PTT announced to make a price of biodiesel fuel 0.2 bhats reduction to 22.64 bhats per liter. Then, price difference with light oil will spread through 0.7 bhats from conventional 0.5 bhats in this....to read more, please login!!

26. February 2007

■Focus on Indonesia
 Palm and lauric acid production in Indonesia will increase this year from 2005 to fulfill both domestic demand and the world market. Domestic demand comprises the cooking oil needs of the country's 220M population; food industries such as noodles and biscuits; soap making; and the oleochemical industry....to read more, please login!!

Above an article is from OFI, January 2007 issue

■IOI locating RM2bil for purchases
 IOI Corp Bhd, the world's largest oil-palm grower, plans for third expansion on the firm's plantations as demand for the crop rises by taking over in South-East Asia. Executive director Datuk Lee Yeow Chor said that they had a reserved of RM2.2bil cash for acquisition without naming their potential targets. Driven by the increasing use of the commodity in foods and soaps, and alternative fuel, many growers like IOI and Synergy Drive Sdn Bhd snapped up their assets to take advantage of prices that have surged Lee said....to read more, please login!!

21. February 2007

■New "Feelosophy" for Asian Markets
 Successful personal care products must provide consumers with solutions and concepts that reflect the latest trends in the marketplace. This is particularly true in Asia, where western influences are increasing and there is huge demand for products that improve people's quality of life....to read more, please login!!

Above an article is from OFI, January 2007 issue

16. February 2007

■Indonesia to be No.1?
 Statements made by Indonesian officials in Jakarta in October – to the effect that Indonesia could overtake Malaysia as the world's largest palm oil producer by 2010 – may have already been superseded by events, according to the latest forecasts (November) for the US Department of Agricultural (USDA). Since 2001, Malaysia's crude palm oil (CPO) output has risen from 13.4M to 15.1M tonne in 2005, while Indonesia's rose from 5.9M to 14.2M over the same period, and it is well known that Indonesia has much greater land resources to expand further....to read more, please login!!

■KFC converts to low-lin soya oil for frying
 At the end of October, KFC Corporation announced that it would begin using zero-trans frying oil to cook its Original Recipe and Extra Crispy fried chicken products, potato wedges and other menu items in the US, reflecting recent public pressure on the issue of trans fats. The company said many of its restaurants had already made the switch from partially hydrogenated soyabean oil to non-hydrogenated low-linolenic soyabean oil, and that it expected its nationwide rollout to be complete by April 2007....to read more, please login!!

■New York plans trans fat edict
 New York City's health department announced at the end of September that it would move forward with plans to limit the amount of trans fats served by restaurants in the city, believed to number more than 20,000.  Under proposals by city health commissioner Dr. Thomas R Frieden, restaurants including fast-food outlets, "delis" and sandwich bars would either have to switch to healthier oils or otherwise reduce trans fats to levels of less than 0.5g per serving by July 2008...to read more, please login!!

■COFCO moves into biofuels
 In October, Ning Gaoning, chairman of China National Cereal, Oil & Foodstuffs Corp (COFCO), said the company aimed to be the primary supplier of biological energy resources and biochemical products in China. Ning revealed that COFCO was set to develop energy resources from corn and that it had already invested in the construction of a 400,000 tonne/year ethanol facility based on cassava in the Guangxi autonomous region....to read more, please login!!

■ADM widens focus
 Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) president and chief executive Patricia Woertz has revealed its future strategy to be global leader in bioenergy, while expanding its premier positions in the agricultural processing value chain. She told analysts in Chicago that ADM's five global core strengths were "our origination, storage and transport operations across the supply chain; our global agricultural processing footprint; our diversified product portfolio; our experienced management team; and our financial strength to manage for returns and growth through business cycles"....to read more, please login!!

■SansTrans shortening introduced
 Loders Croklaan, part of the IOI Group, has introduced a trans-free, non-hydrogenated, all-purpose shortening in the US market that is also said to offer reduced saturated fat content and lower cost compared with traditional shortenings. According to the company, SansTrans RS39 T20 provides the same functionality as traditional bakery shortenings, but with 30% less saturated fat than the typical trans-free alternatives....to read more, please login!!

■Noble adds in China
 The Noble Group has agreed to purchase further oilseed crushing and oil refining activities in mainland China, to add to the soyabean processing facility it acquired in Qinzhou, Guangxi, earlier in 2006. These include two more soyabean processing facilities...to read more, please login!!

Above 7 articles are from OFI, January 2007 issue

14. February 2007

■New fatty alcohol ethoxylate plant in Thailand
 A joint venture company between Cognis Thailand Limited and PTT Chemical Public Company Limited, Thai Ethoxylate Company Limited, plans to open a new facility in Rayong, Thailand. This new company will produce fatty ethoxylates mainly for customers in the home and personal care industries...to read more, please login!!

■Shanghai new Flavor Center by Givaudan
 The most modern and complete creation, technology and production centers facility in the flavor industry globally, was open by Givaudan in center of Shanghai. The new facility is entirely dedicated to the Chinese market and its rising demand for leading flavor creations....to read more, please login!!

■Kitchen Magiclean best selling item in Japan
 Reflecting the increase in the number of working women in Japan, quick cleaning and laundry washing, household cleaners and detergents are in strong demand. The growing demand from double-income households with husbands and wives in both their 20s and 30s...to read more, please login!!

■Beauty Spot Available in Middle East
 One of Asia's largest beauty groups, Clara International through a partnership with The Beauty Spot, a UAE-based skin care and grooming group, announced that its range of natural and effective skin care solutions are now available in the Middle East.
 The Gulf's hot and humid environment in Dubai tends to encourage open follicles and blocked pores, while the frigid air-conditioning encourages dryness and signs of premature aging such as fine wrinkles....to read more, please login!!

13. February 2007

■Good year for PetroChina
 Last year (2006) was a good year for China's largest oil company, PetroChina, with the production of chemicals growing as industries increased demand amid strong economic growth. The production of ethylene increased by 9.5% in 2006 from a year earlier to 2.1m tonnes....to read more, please login!!

■Thais backtracked plans to ban MTBE in gasoline
 Thailand has who initially plans to ban the octane-boosting additive MTBE in gasoline and replace it with 10% ethanol-blended fuel known as gasohol, backtracked on its controversial plans. Instead, the Thai government will allow conventional gasoline (95 RON) to be sold alongside the ethanol blend, or E10, on the forecourts of the country's petrol stations, reported ICIS Chemical Business....to read more, please login!!

7. February 2007

■Cargill reports 34% hike in second-quarter earnings
 Cargill reported net earnings of USD 662 million in the 2007 second quarter ended Nov. 30, up 34 percent from USD 495 million in the same period a year ago. In the first six months, the company earned USD 1.16 billion, a 16 percent increase from USD 999 million a year ago. Those represent the strongest operating performances in company history. Similar to the first quarter, Cargill experienced fast-changing markets in the second period, brought about by the interest in biofuels, investor flows into commodity futures and other markets offering diversification, and expansionary economies in many parts of the world.

■Mega Merger
 Put your hands together to applaud the Mega merger of Kuok Group's Agri business entities PPB and KOG with Wilmar International based and listed in Singapore. This is not a story of the prodigal returning back to the family fold. This is story of a magnanimous family patriarch acknowledging and saluting a super achiever amongst the kin. The merger plan is a masterstroke that could not have come at a better time when the world is on the cusp of a long awaited boom in Agri commodities....to read more, please login!!

Above 2 articles are from Oleoline.com, January 2007 update

■Cargill takes pragmatic approach
 While ADM directly owns an estimated 29% of US bioethanol production, Cargill owns just 3% and has committed only US$500,000 in direct investment into booming sector so far, the Minnesota, company recently told Star Tribune newspaper. Instead of building its own capacity, Cargill is concentrating on partnerships and supply deals, serving other companies that operate ethanol plants. ...to read more, please login!!

■Biotechconsult to market citric acid route from biodiesel glycerine
 Researchers at Wroclaw Agricultural University in Poland have developed a non-GM yeast that can economically convert the crude glycerine from biodiesel production into citric acid; and Biotechconsult, an Anglo/Slovak business, has signed an exclusive licence to market the process, reported ICIS Chemical Business....to read more, please login!!

■Neste aims to be world leader….
 Finnish mineral oil processor Neste Oil Corp announced at the end of September that, while petroleum refining would continue to be its core business, it would be investing several billion Euros in new biodiesel projects over the next 10 years, and aimed to be the world's leading biodiesel producer with annual production volumes of million of tones....to read more, please login!!

Above 3 articles are from OFI, January 2007 issue

24. January. 2007

■Oleo producers fighting on all fronts
 If you talk to almost anyone in the oleochemical industry, you could become a habitual passimist.
 You are likely to be given such a long list of aliments that the industry is suffering from that, if it were an animal, it would be put down as an act of kindness. REACH (European chemicals legislation), low glycerine prices are due to biodiesel, raw material price and availability issues due to increasing fuel use of oils and fats, carbon emissions legislation, too much capacity chasing too little volume, NGO pressure on sustainability of raw material sources … the list could go on....to read more, please login!!

■New fatty alcohol ethoxylate plant
 The Thai Ethoxylate Company Ltd.- a 50:50 joint venture between Cognis Thailand Ltd and PTT Chemical Public Company Ltd – announced the inauguration of its ethoxylation plant at Rayong, Thailand in mid-November....to read more, please login!!

■Fatty acid demand to rise in China
 Chinese demand for fatty acids will rise to 0.4M tonne this year and double by 2010 with stearic acid, in particular, booming, MC Menon of Malaysia's Pan Century Oleochemicals told the October World Detergent Conference in Switzerland....to read more, please login!!

■In Brief
 - China
 - Malaysia
 - Liberia
 - India
 - United States
 - Czech Republic
 - India
 - Philippines
...to read more, please login!!

■In Brief Biofuels
 - Belgium
 - India
 - China
 - South Korea
 - Spain
 - Argentina
...to read more, please login!!

Above 5 articles are from OFI, January 2007 issue

■A fruitful year for Malaysia Oleochemical Industry
 According to several 2007 outlook reports and the analysts' forecasts, everyone expect crude palm oil (CPO) price to rise. Even the most conservative ones foresee a 15% up-trend that expected to stretch to 2008. Forecast of CPO price this year range between RM1,725 and RM2,000 per tonne was reported. Comparing with the average for year 2006 was about RM1,500 per tonne....to read more, please login!!

■Floods have minimal impact on Plantation Companies
 Listed plantation companies with large oil palm estates in flood-struck Johor says the disaster have minimal impact on their full year earnings for 2006 and 2007. Based on sources, industry players claim that the situation was well under control despite the two recent rounds of severe floods that had resulted in harvesting disruptions and crop losses....to read more, please login!!

17. January. 2007

■The Philippines legislate Biofuel Law
 Arroyo, the Philippine President signed "biofuel law" to oblige the use of biofuel in the field of transportation, and this law was legislated formally. By this law, initial mixture rate of bioethanol is obligated 5% to gasoline within 2 years and increased to 10% within 4 years. ...to read more, please login!!

5. January. 2007

■City Axis Holding (Singapore) purchases a palm farm and oil and fats business of Indofood Sukses Makmur
 City Axis Holding in Singapore announced that they got permission for the acquisition of a palm farm and oil and fats business of Indofood Sukses Makmur from the Singaporean stock exchange. "The reverse purchase" that an Indofood becomes a surviving company by a stock swap method as for the purchase will be high possibility. ...to read more, please login!!

5. January. 2007

News from 1st November 2006 to 27th November 2006 update

Contents

■Triacetin and Diacetin Price Increase 2006
■Biofuels News
  -China develops super rapeseed
  -India focuses on wasteland crop
  -Australian player enters N America
  -Brazil aims to be leading exporter
  -Malaysia's first major plant open
■Jatropha: Fuel not food
  -Drivers of biofuels
 -What is Jatropha?
  -Biodiesel from Jatropha
  -India
  -Indonesia
  -Food versus fuel
■Construction of the largest biodiesel factory in Singapore is started
■Octyl acid, its related fatty acid demand expands in India
■Aussie firm plans Asian biodiesel plant
■Growth of the European biodiesel business for INEOS
■Production update & capacity extension
■BIOLUX Biofuel: Groundbreaking Ceremony for the largest Austrian Agricultural Investment in China