Cefic, the European Chemical Industry Council, expects chemical production in the European Union (EU) to have declined by 1 % in 2019 compared to 2018. For 2020, chemical production is expected to stay on the same level as 2019.

Uzbekistan has started up a new chemical complex at Navoiazot in the Navoi region of Uzbekistan, according to the press service of the Uzbek president. The project, earlier valued at around USD 500 million, has the capacity to produce 300,000 t/y of methanol, 100,000 t/y of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and 75,000 t/y of caustic soda. CAMC Engineering and HQC (Shanghai) Co. of China were contractors for the project.

On 5 January 2020, Huntsman announced that it has completed the sale of its chemical intermediates businesses, which includes PO/MTBE, and its surfactants businesses to Indorama Ventures in a transaction valued at approximately USD 2 billion.

BASF and an affiliate of Lone Star, a global private equity firm, have signed a purchase agreement for the acquisition of BASF’s Construction Chemicals business. The purchase price on a cash and debt-free basis is EUR 3.17 billion. The transaction is expected to close in Q3 2020, subject to the approval of the relevant competition authorities. With more than 7,000 employees, the Construction Chemicals business operates production sites and sales offices in more than 60 countries and generated sales of about EUR 2.5 billion in 2018.

Battelle has won a recent United States Department of Energy (DOE) award that has an interesting twist for coal. The DOE announced that Battelle was among its recipients in funding for cost-shared research and development projects. The project is to be executed in a parallel program with the Ohio Coal Development Office. Battelle will develop a process to convert bituminous coal into polyurethane foam products along with some low-sulfur fuel oil by-product. The results are expected to confirm the commercial viability of a coal-to-high-value solid foam products process.

LyondellBasell and China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (Sinopec) have signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MoU) to form a 50-50 joint venture for building a new propylene oxide (PO) and styrene monomer (SM) plant in Zhenhai, Ningbo, China. The facility, which will be based on LyondellBasell's PO/SM technology, is expected to produce 300,000 t/y of PO and 600,000 t/y of SM to serve the domestic market. 

Foam Expo North America 2020, one of the world’s largest dedicated exhibitions and conferences for the technical foam industry, will take place from 24 – 26 March 2020 in halls A, B and C of the Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi, MI, USA. According to the organiser, Smarter Shows (Tarsus) Limited, the event is a meeting place for the manufacturers, suppliers and buyers of technical foam products and technologies, offering attendees access to innovative machinery and services from across the entire foam supply chain. Moving into its fourth year, the event provides a unique opportunity to network with OEMs and suppliers and keep up-to-date with the latest industry trends.