The chemical manufacturing unit of Malaysian state energy firm Petroliam Nasional Bhd, or Petronas, plans to spend roughly $6 billion over the next 15 to 20 years to expand its specialty chemicals portfolio through acquisitions and partnerships, its chief executive said on Monday.
The budget is part of Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd’s efforts to make the high-margin specialty chemicals unit a central part of the company’s business, Chief Executive Sazali Hamzah said in an interview with Reuters at the Asia Oil & Gas Conference.
“By doing that we are going to diversify our portfolio and our dependency on crude and gas will be a lot less,” Sazali said.
By A. Ananthalakshmi and Florence Tan
Source: Reuters
3M and Dow have announced they are cutting thousands of roles from their global workforces in response to economic pressures. Dow has said it will cut 2,000 jobs across its global workforce (around 5%) in a bid to save US$1bn in 2023. The company says it will also cut costs by shutting down “select assets”, though it did not note where it would halt operations.
Sweden’s state mining firm has discovered what could be Europe’s largest rare earths deposit, and says it could help the bloc reduce its reliance on imports of minerals needed to manufacture clean technologies and meet climate targets.
Henkel and Avantium have been partners since 2019, when Henkel joined the PEFerence consortium. This consortium of partners, coordinated by Avantium, aims to establish an innovative supply chain for FDCA and PEF (polyethylene furanoate).
