N. America weekly chemical rail up year over year on broad gains

North American weekly chemical rail volume continues to trend down seasonally while maintaining year-over-year gains on strength throughout the region, according to new data from the Association of American Railroads (AAR), as per Chemweek.

During the week ended May 31, chemical railcar volume in North America totaled 48,600 carloads, up 0.8% from the previous week and up 9.4% year over year. The four-week moving average (4wma) came to 48,045 carloads, down 0.8% sequentially, up 2.4% year over year and up 7.8% from the seasonal trendline, as represented by the average for 2015–2024.

In the US, 4wma chemical railcar volume came to 32,728 carloads, down 1.5% sequentially, up 1.2% year over year and up 4.1% from the region’s seasonal trendline (right chart). In Canada, 4wma chemical railcar volume came to 14,295 carloads, up 0.6% sequentially, up 5.8% year over year and up 14.3% from the trendline. In Mexico, 4wma chemical railcar volume came to 1,022 carloads, up 4.6% sequentially, down 1.8% year over year and down 2.6% from the trendline.

For the year to date, chemical railcar volume in North America is up 1.1%, while total railcar volume is up 0.8%. US chemical railcar volume is up 2.0% on the same basis, while Canadian chemical railcar volume is flat and Mexican chemical railcar volume is down 17.0%.

mrchub.com

Alpek, S.A.B. de C.V. has announced the strategic decision to cease operations at its Cedar Creek facility in Fayetteville, North Carolina (U.S.) by July 31, 2025, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The site, acquired by Alpek in 2001, has an installed capacity of 170,000 t of PET resin and approximately 35,000 t of rPET flake production.

This decision is aligned with Alpek’s long-term strategy to optimize its global footprint and focus on its more competitive and scalable assets. The company will reallocate its production to continue serving its customers with high-quality products and sustainable solutions by leveraging its regional and global network.

Through this optimization, which is part of Alpek’s Cost Reduction Strategic Initiatives, the company will be able to generate approximately $20 MM in annualized savings on a run-rate basis, effective by 2026. This reinforces Alpek’s long-term vision to solidify its core business and strengthen its financial position.

mrchub.com

Gazprom , together with Gazprom Neft , remained the second biggest oil and gas condensate producer in Russia in 2024, Gazprom said in its draft annual report, as per Interfax.

"Second place in Russia by oil and gas condensate production, including the share in oil and gas condensate production by associated organizations and joint ventures," the company ssaid.

Gazprom Group's oil and gas condensate production figures have been growing over the past three years, from 67.9 million tonnes in 2022 to 72.4 million tonnes in 2023 and almost 76 million tonnes in 2024.

"In the reporting year, the Gazprom Group produced 75.95 million tonnes of oil and gas condensate in Russia. The increase in liquids production was due, in particular, to the Gazprom Group gaining control over the activities of Sakhalin Energy LLC, the commissioning of Block 3A of the Urengoy oil and gas condensate field's Achimov formations and the commissioning of new capacity at the Kovykta gas condensate field. Oil was monetized using mobile infrastructure at the Chona group of fields in Eastern Siberia," the report said.

Gazprom said that liquids output in 2024 continued to be influenced by the need to comply with the quota set by the Russian Energy Ministry under the OPEC+ agreement.

The group's operating oil production well stock in Russia has decreased from 10,411 in 2023 to 10,223 wells in 2024.

"The Gazprom Group's strategic goal in the oil business is to maintain our status of one of the largest international oil and gas companies through effective management of the asset portfolio across the entire value chain and the use of advanced technological solutions to maximize financial results while upholding the principles of high social and environmental responsibility," the document says.

The strategy for developing the oil exploration and production segment in the medium term takes into account: effective development of the mature resource base, development of the Yamal Peninsula, monetization of liquid hydrocarbons in the Nadym-PurTaz province, creation of production clusters around the anchor assets of Eastern Siberia, and development of previously untapped oil rim reserves, Achimov and Neocomian-Jurassic deposits.

Gazprom Group's oil and gas condensate production capex in 2024 went to key investment projects at Gazprom Neft's traditional assets: development of Block 3A of the Achimov formations and oil rims of the Urengoy oil and gas condensate field, Neocomian-Jurassic formations of the Bovanenkovo oil and gas condensate field and the Kharasavey gas condensate field; development of hydrocarbon deposits at the Yen-Yakhinskoye oil and gas condensate field and the Pestsovoye oil and gas condensate field (Valanginian), as well as oil deposits of the Zapadno-Tarkosalinskoye oil and gas condensate field and the Chayanda oil and gas condensate field; and development of hydrocarbon deposits of Eastern Siberia projects (Chona group of fields).

Gazprom's annual report for 2020 said that the group, based on its own observations, climbed from third to second place in terms of oil and condensate production.

mrchub.com

Agricultural chemicals firm UPL Ltd. (Mumbai) affiliate Adavanta Seeds has announced the acquisition of key corn assets from K-Adriatica (Loreo, Italy), a sper Chemweek.

The deal includes temperate corn breeding germplasm, a pipeline of corn hybrids and a diverse corn product portfolio. Financial details of the transaction were not included.

UPL said the integration of K-Adriatica’s corn assets into Advanta Seeds’ global breeding program is expected to accelerate the development of high-yielding, stable hybrids tailored to the needs of European growers.

“Europe is a highly diverse agricultural region, and by combining our global expertise with locally adapted genetics, we aim to develop superior corn hybrids with consistent performance. This acquisition also supports our broader strategic ambition, enabling us to leverage these assets in other key markets including north India, Australia, South Africa, Argentina, China, and the US,” said Bhupen Dubey, global CEO of Advanta Seeds.

“We look at acquisition opportunities on a regular basis as a part of our inorganic growth strategy and proceed with the one which fits our portfolio strategy the most,” added Dubey.

Investment firm Alpha Wave Global LP last November decided to invest $350 million to acquire an approximately 12.5% stake in Advanta. Alpha Wave is the second investor in Advanta, following a $300 million investment by KKR & Co. Inc. in 2022. UPL acquired Advanta in 2006.

mrchub.com

Toyobo Co. and DMC Biotechnologies announced the signing of a multi-year collaboration agreement to de-velop a more sustainable, fermentation-produced, high volume chemical intermediate for use in a wide range of chemical products, as per Polymerupdate.

Through this agreement, the two companies will lev-erage their complementary capabilities to accelerate the development and commercialization of bio-based and affordable chemical products, the partners noted.

DMC will utilize its proprietary Dynamic Metabolic Control technology and metabolic engineering expertise to enable cost-advantaged, efficient, scalable and ro-bust fermentation processes, while Toyobo will lever-age its extensive expertise in both chemical synthesis and biotechnology, along with its deep industry knowledge, to bring these innovative products to mar-ket.

Toyobo is dedicated to driving innovations in sus-tainable materials and production, said Lizuka Norio, executive officer, Sustainability and Corporate Planning Division at Toyobo.

By integrating Toyobo's chemical synthesis and bio-technology expertise with DMC's advanced biotechnolo-gy platform, we aspire to create new opportunities for sustainable chemical products that meet global market demands.

mrchub.com