Chemours names Dignam permanent CEO

The Chemours Co. today named interim CEO Denise Dignam as the company’s permanent CEO and president, as well as a member of the board of directors, effective immediately, said the company.

Dignam has been interim CEO since late February, when former CEO Mark Newman was placed on leave due to an internal investigation. Prior to that, Dignam was president/titanium technologies and president/advanced performance materials at Chemours.

The internal investigation uncovered accounting irregularities related to cash flow targets used in public reporting and executive compensation, Chemours reported on Mar. 6. Former CFO Jonathan Lock and Vice President and Controller Camela Wisel were also placed on leave due to the investigation.

Chemours is currently searching for a permanent CFO, and interim CFO Matthew Abbot will continue in the role while the search progresses, the company said. Chemours has also named Diane Iuliano, formerly vice president/human resources, titanium technologies, as interim president/titanium technologies while the company searches for a permanent division president.

Dignam “will be focused on strengthening our portfolio with high-value and emerging growth opportunities,” she said in a statement.

We remind, Chemours Company, a global chemistry company with leading market positions in Titanium Technologies, Thermal & Specialized Solutions, and Advanced Performance Materials, announces two upcoming changes to its Board of Directors. Director Sandra Phillips Rogers has announced her decision not to stand for reelection and will serve out the remainder of her current term. Pamela Fletcher will join the Chemours Board as a director, effective March 1, 2024.

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Borealis remains committed to value creation through innovation, said the company.

True to our purpose Re-inventing Essentials for Sustainable Living, we are committed to innovation in order to provide intelligent and sustainable solutions to society’s most pressing challenges, such as climate change, environmental pollution and rising energy costs. By developing cutting-edge technologies and product solutions, Borealis is spearheading the transition to a circular economy with zero CO2 emissions.

Patents are essential to protect innovative ideas when creating new processes, technologies, and applications. In 2023, Borealis filed 128 new priority patent applications, once again ranking as number one top filer in the . In total, Borealis’ extensive patent portfolio consists of approximately 8,900 granted patents and approximately 3,200 patent applications through to the end of 2023.

“Innovation is the cornerstone of our success. We are therefore proud to have been consistently recognized by the European Patent Index for years as one of the leading innovators in Austria and again been ranked number one for 2023,” says Thomas Gangl, Borealis CEO. “This recognition is a testament to our commitment to innovation and our ability to develop cutting-edge solutions that address the most pressing challenges of our time.

We remind, Borealis announces that it has signed an agreement for the acquisition of Integra Plastics AD, a Bulgarian advanced mechanical recycling player. Closing of this transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals.

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PetroChina's Jieyang refinery will receive its first direct crude oil cargo from Venezuela, according to trade sources and ship tracking data on Kpler, after Washington temporarily lifted sanctions on the OPEC producer, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The 2 million barrels of Venezuelan Merey crude onboard supertanker Elysia is due to arrive at Jieyang on March 24, Kpler data showed. PetroChina did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Reuters reported in November that state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA) and PetroChina were in talks for a crude supply deal during the six-month reprieve.

Washington last year relaxed sanctions on Venezuela's oil industry in return for promises to open its presidential election to international observers and allow the opposition to choose its candidate, which has not happened.

If the U.S. does not renew next month the license granted in October that lifted sanctions, PDVSA would probably return to using intermediaries to sell its oil to buyers such as China, likely at discounts.

Jieyang, a greenfield 400,000-bpd refinery and petrochemical complex in southern China Guangdong province, is the newest among PetroChina's refining facilities. The plant started trial runs in late 2022 and was designed to process heavy oil such as crude from Venezuela.

PetroChina dropped PDVSA as the partner for the Jieyang complex in 2019 after the United States imposed sanctions on PDVSA to undermine the rule of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

We remind, Petrochina Guangxi has entered into a license agreement with Grace to use its Unipol PP technology for its new 400 kilotons per annum single reactor line in China. With this move, Petrochina Guangxi aims to deliver higher value PP products to the local market. Grace has announced the signing of a new license with Petrochina Guangxi to develop a 400-kilotons per annum single reactor line using its Unipol PP technology.

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BASF has broken ground on a methyl glycol plant at its Verbund site in Zhanjiang, China, said the company.

The new facility is designed with an annual capacity of 46,000 metric tons and aims to meet the rapidly growing demand for brake fluids in the region. The plant is scheduled to commence operations by the end of 2025.

“The new facility will be the only fully backward integrated methyl glycols plant into a steam cracker in China, serving the fast-growing brake fluids market,” said Bir Darbar Mehta, Senior Vice President, Petrochemicals Asia Pacific, BASF. “Utilizing BASF's unique process technology, the plant will deliver reliable, competitive and high-quality products to cater to the needs of our downstream business and customers.”

“As a strong player in the automotive fluids industry, BASF built a reputation for delivering high-performance products and exceptional services to our valued partners in the brake fluid industry,” said Matthias Lang, Vice President, Business Management Fuel & Lubricant Solutions Asia Pacific and Performance Chemicals Greater China, BASF. “The capacity expansion demonstrates our commitment to the emerging Asian automotive industry, especially in China, where the demand for high-quality products is continuously increasing.”

The new methyl glycols plant will produce methyl diglycol (MDG), methyl triglycol (MTG), and methyl tetraglycol (MTEG) from methanol and purified ethylene oxide (PEO). Methyl triglycol is the primary raw material for the production of modern brake fluids used in the automotive industry.

We remind, BASF SE announced it has broken ground on a new fermentation plant at Ludwigshafen, Germany, for biological and biotechnology-based crop protection products. The plant is expected to start operations in the second half of 2025 and will manufacture biological fungicides and biological seed treatment products, it said. BASF also plans to produce the main building block of an insecticide derived from a fungal strain at the facility.

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Russian Energy Minister Nikolai Shulginov said that the government and companies are in discussions about changes to the schedule of maintenance at oil refineries to tackle damaged downstream capacity, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Shulginov also said there was potential for an increase in fuel production at refineries where output had not been halted.

He said the refining production forecast for 2024 remained unchanged, which put it at a level close to last year's.

We remind, Gazprom is sticking to its goal of achieving 100% of the technically possible level of network gasification by 2030, and is actively working with the regions via five-year programs, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Gazprom Oleg Aksyutin said in an article in the company's corporate magazine.

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