Wintershall, a subsidiary of the world's biggest chemical company BASF, acquires additional shares in oil and gas fields from Statoil for US$1.25 billion. The new fields shall increase the company's daily production in Norway to around 60,000 barrels of oil equivalent.

Frost & Sullivan’s recent intelligence, Global Analysis of Battery Materials Market, Forecast to 2023, examines the battery materials used in lead-acid and Li-ion batteries. The study finds that China, Japan and South Korea in Asia-Pacific (Apac) are proving to be lucrative markets for Lithium (Li)-ion battery material suppliers.

5,600 billion Euros is the ultimate Grand Prix for chemicals. But the winner is by no means identified — The chemical industry experienced above-average growth globally. With this development, chemical companies could pocket 5,600 billion Euros per year till 2035. But the global distribution is not equal: The North American market is growing strongly whereas the market in Europe has stagnated. The consequence: The significance of the old continent could get marginalized for this industry. There is still time to change course.

BASF will increase its capacity for cyclohexane oxidation at its Antwerp Verbund site by about 50,000 tons per year. The debottlenecking project will help to reduce the dependency on external suppliers of cyclohexane oxidation products.

The Board of Executive Directors of BASF has announced several personnel changes.

The work on an interface to perfect Open Plant/Comos integration has been in full swing for a year now. How close are we to seeing the results? –We thought it was time to ask the question, and so at this year’s Hanover Fair we caught up with Anne-Marie Walters, Global Marketing Director at Bentley Industrial Process & Operations.

The 31st Chemspec Europe takes place this year at Messe Basel. The event has long been promoted as a must-attend event in the industry. On 1st and 2nd June, visitors can expect top-class workshops and conferences in addition to the exhibition..

What has advent of additive manufacturing in store for the process industry? – The 3D-printer becomes a gamechanger: While some companies set themselves apart by using customized materials or dream of the pill out of the printer, others fear the impending marginalization of the chemical industry. Gold rush or hangover? An industry is looking for answers between polymer filaments, prototypes and printed pills.

Industry 4.0 and digital transformation solutions are a priority for many pump, vacuum equipment and compressor manufacturers. The race to develop new business models has just started. 3D printing has a special role to play, and it will revolutionize the spare parts market.

BASF and Petronas announced that the Heads of Agreement (HoA) between the two parties for a joint speciality chemicals venture within Petronas’ Refinery & Petrochemical Integrated Development (Rapid) project in Pengerang, Johor/Malaysia, has been terminated by mutual agreement.