Weekly News Round Up

This week's round-up of news and updates on previous stories

• The Thai Government has formally ordered construction work to stop at the Map ta Phut petrochemical complex. There is no clear information regarding a likely restart date at this time.

• The new Boeing 787 Dreamliner made its first test flight on Tuesday. Each 787 contains carbon fibre and adhesives to the value of $1M, with the carbon fibre coming from polyacrylonitrile. Boeing has already received 840 orders for the new aircraft.

• Following recent shale gas discoveries, the American Natural Gas Alliance (ANGA) now believes that the US now has approximately 100 years of natural gas reserves. If correct, this could significantly impact future petrochemical investment in the USA. This news follows the recent announcement of ExxonMobil's acquisition of  major US natural gas producer XTO Energy.

• According to reports, the bankruptcy court in New York has adjourned the hearing to consider the LyondellBasell's proposed reorganisation plan, until January 12th. The outcome of the hearing is of much interest for Reliance Industries which has made a preliminary non-binding offer for a controlling interest in LyondellBasell.