West Virginia is incessantly affected by the chemical spill

Since World War I, the Kanawha River Valley had been the major producers of volatile and other chemical products that surround potentially toxic materials. Due to high concentration of chemical manufactures and storage facilities along its bank, Kanawha River Valley had earned the epithet of Chemical Valley. In the last five year, the recent incident of chemical spill in West Virginia was noted as the third incident. For nearly a century, Chemical Valley was home to the largest concentration of chemical plants in U.S.

The coal-cleansing chemical that spilled from Freedom Industries storage tank into the Elk River on 09th January 2014 had affected nearly nine countries in West Virginia as the river was the only source of drinking water. More than 200,000 people in West Virginia were asked not to drink, cook or shower with the water, as a large scale of 4-methylcyclohexane methanol (MCMH) chemical leaked into the Elk River near Charleston. The chemical used as a foaming agent to wash certain types of coal before it is sent to market.

According to the research analyst, the chemical is not toxic but is harmful if swallowed and can cause irritation to skin and eyes if one comes in contact. Also, foul smell from the tap water can cause of stress and nausea. Nearly 300,000 people were affected by this incident and moreover around 100,000 and more were without water. With the huge amount of chemical spilled in the river has almost affected the economic production where restaurant and hotels were forced to shut down. Also, patients admitted in the hospitals had to suffer due to contaminated water and the surgeons have cancelled their surgeries till the problem is solved. Freedom Industries is feeling the pressure from the local residents of West Virginia. According to the President of Freedom Industries, their team has been working round the clock since the discovery to contain the leak to prevent further contamination.

According to the residents of West Virginia, no much changes seen on behalf of all the industrial incidents and accidents. If we look back to the year 2008, similar explosion had occurred at Bayer CropScience Institute, where explosion of pesticides waste tank released toxic fumes and killed two workers. After this incident, the federal Chemical Safety Board recommended new state and federal safety regulations. After two years in 2010, the same incident had occurred with one of the major chemical company DuPont, where highly toxic phosgene was released resulting in the death of a plant worker. After this accidental release the safety board returned to West Virginia and new safety oversight was once again urged. However these measures were found a bit supportive in the capital in Charleston.

According to the Governor Earl Ray Tomblin, currently their high priorities are hospitals, nursing homes and schools and the Governor has been working with their National Guard and Office of Emergency Services in an endeavor of providing water and supplies through the state emergency services offices as fast as possible.

Consequently, the government of West Virginia must take firm actions on such incidents that are continuously hammering the health of the local residents staying in West Virginia.

Follows us:

Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin

For More info: chemical industry 

How would Iranian economy look without sanctions?

Leaders from Iran had welcomed a short-term deal over its nuclear programme to facilitate world powers allowance from sanctions targeting its key energy and financial sectors, which have crippled its economy. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was unable to confirm assertions of Tehran whether these nuclear activities are solely for peaceful purpose, since nuclear programme of Iran became public in the year 2002. According to the market experts, the landmark agreement Iran clinched with world powers on its unclear nuclear programme took effect from 20th January 2014. According to the U.S. President Barack Obama, he has no delusion on the difficulty of reaching a final agreement with Iran.

Since November 2013, the news about Iran had almost been focused on the deal to limit that nuclear program of the country, Tehran agreed to curtail its nuclear drive for six months in exchange meant for receiving modest liberation from international sanctions and a promise by Western powers not to impose new measures against its hard-hit economy. According to the senior U.S. administration official, the first $550 million installment of $4.2 billion in frozen chattels was released early in the month of December 2013. As per the research analysts, unblocking the funds will breathe new life into the economy and provide much-needed relief across Iran.

The deal which is between Iran and the six world powers known as P5+1, anticipate the six-month suspension of certain sanctions on gold and precious metals, auto sector and petrochemical exports of Iran. Less than a month after Iran and the P5+1 countries reached a deal over the final nuclear program, the Iranian people and many international stakeholders are still waiting for economic sanctions on Iran to be lifted.  

Oil, Inflation and the Auto Sector 

After the lift of economic sanctions, global businesses are piling back into Tehran and for foreign firms the biggest prize in Iran is indisputably its sanctions crippled on oil and gas sector. During past nine months, Iran had sold $34 billion worth of oil and byproducts earning $32billion.

According to Leylaz, sanctions relief could strengthen the state assets in the long term and the annual revenue was estimated that it will rise by $20-25 billion dollars, which will help the government control inflation and will meet the demands of a population ravenous for more consumer goods.

Another big opportunity in Iran is the auto sector of Iran which had been essential for European producers before the sanctions hit. It accounts for 10% of its gross domestic product and is the second biggest industry after oil and is also likely to profit from sanctions relief. 

According to the White House, during the six months of the interim nuclear agreement oil exports from Iran are to remain at the current level of about 1 million bpd. During the period from sales of petrochemicals, trading in gold and other precious metals and the improved transactions with foreign firms involved in the automotive sector will estimate that Iran will mount up to $1.5 billion.

Follows us:

Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin

For More info: chemical industry 

Iran's oil and gas sector

Iran has the largest gas reserve in the world and ranks fourth in oil reserve holdings among all countries. The Islamic Republic accounts for 18 per cent and 9.4 per cent of the world's total proven gas and oil resources, respectively. Despite its advantageous position, Iran has been lagging behind other nations due to lack of efficient projects, high domestic consumption, insufficient financial support, lack of technology and the western sanctions imposed upon Iran to curb their nuclear programme.

Iran's oil and gas sector

Iran's oil output has declined drastically. Iran produced nearly 3.628 mbpd in 2011. However, in 2013 their oil output declined to 2.7 mbpd. Iran has closed some oil fields as a result of decreasing oil exports. Their domestic refining capacity has also declined. Iran's active oil fields are witnessing rapid decline in productivity- 8-13 per cent annually.

Iran's oil recovery rate stands at around 20-30 per cent. The recovey rates of crude oil, liquid hydrocarbons and gas are 25 per cent, 29 per cent and 70 per cent, respectively. Despite plans to increase oil recovery rate by 1 per cent during Fourth and Fifth Development Plans, the recovery rate remained unchanged during the Fourth Plan because of lack of sufficient investment. Iran needed nearly $79.04 billion to reach a 1 per cent increase in crude oil recovery rate. Iran also witnessed a decline in the amount of gas injected into oil fields to bolster production. Iran needed to inject 200 mcm of gas but only 70 mcm was in injected into fields due to shortage of gas. In the past two years, the country’s domestic gas consumption has increased; the production level has also increased but the gas volume injected into oil fields has not seen a significant rise.
Iran’s oil refining capacity declined to 1.61 mbpd in 2012 from 1.772 mbpd in 2011. In 2013, a number of new projects were set up at the Arak and Bandar Abbas refineries and several plants had to be shut down for months following damages, explosions etc. However, the country’s gasoline consumption increased by 7.5 per cent to 70 million litres per day in the Iranian solar year that lasted from March 20- November 20. During this period, oil-gas consumption rose by 8 per cent to 100-105 million litres per day, while kerosene consumption decreased by 12 per cent to 8 million litres per day. Domestic consumption of fuel oil remained the same at 51 million litres per day, compared to the same period last year.

In 2013, Iran exported 135,000 bpd of fuel oil, which signifies that fuel oil exports increased in the first half of the year but then started to decline as a result of increased use of liquid fuel in domestic power plants after September. The Islamic Republic has not raised exports of other refined fuels but imports nearly 7 million litres of gasoline per day. Thus, Iran’s oil refining capacity has increased a little compared to 2012, but lower than in 2011.

Iran’s gas production level in 2012 was 160.5 billion cubic meters and the consumption level was 156.11 bcm, which indicates a 5.4 per cent and 1.4 percent increase when compared to 2011. In the current Iranian calendar year, the total gas consumption is likely to increase to 160 bcm. The country’s total gas refining level including gas imports from Turkmenistan amounted to 500 mcmpd. It is expected that the consumption level will reach 700 mcmpd in the winter.

In 2013, Iran’s gas output witnessed an increase after September- daily gas production increased by 3.1 mcmpd and surpassed 301 million cubic meters. Iran also experienced a rise by 12 mcmpd in refined gas output in South Pars.

Iran exported 7.5 bcm of gas to Turkey and its imports of 4.5 bcm from Turkmenistan remained the same compared to the previous year. Iran’s petrochemical exports declined by 13.8 per cent to 9 million tons in the first 8 months of the current Iranian solar year.

Follows us:

Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin

For More info: chemical industry 

Saudi enjoys lowest cost of oil extraction in the world

The shale gas revolution in U.S. has brought about some major changes. In the late 1970s the United States decided to encourage development of technology that would enable extraction of shale gas and oil. Since then the country has had access to oil and gas deposits that were previously unreachable. With time the fracking process of hydraulic fracturing has improved giving way to reduced drilling time and expenditure.

The world has nearly 345 billion barrels of available shale oil which for a long time could not be accessed. These deposits are larger than the existing reserves of Saudi Arabia. Saudi has about 300 million barrels of shale oil. And if the additional reserves can be tapped successfully, there would be substantial changes in the global oil market. In such a situation the role of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the UAE and Qatar becomes uncertain. The rising competition from shale oil will likely reduce the capacity of this region.

However, the key aspect is often forgotten- latest technologies have made extraction of shale gas and oil cost-effective, but the extraction cost remains the highest among different types of oil.

Saudi Arabia enjoys lowest cost of extracting oil in the world, which is just above $20 per barrel. Other Gulf nations like Iraq and Iran extract oil with only a minimum premium over Saudi Arabia.

Markets in China, Mexico and Libya are also sources of relatively cheap oil but these nations play a small role in international markets, primarily due to their low exporting capacity. Libya hasn’t been able to recover from the Arab Spring events and exports only 100,000 barrels per day. China produces 4 million bpd which is consumed by the domestic market. Mexico has also reduced exports due to reduced production and increasing domestic consumption.

Extracting non-conventional oil leads to much higher production costs. Oil from deep water extraction is extremely expensive when compared to the conventional GCC oil.

Extracting shale oil in U.S. and oil from sands in Canada amounts to $70-$100, five times Saudi Arabia’s cost. Despite a significant rise in production, oil prices have not come down. This is because the marginal cost of oil production is rising due to technical issues- drilling in locations like the Arctic Ocean or deep waters involves higher material costs and reduced productivity.

High oil prices are necessary for Gulf nations to meet their increasing monetary needs. However, in case of an extended period of low oil prices, a major share of the global oil production would have to be shut down as a result of high extraction costs. But the Gulf countries would continue making money by selling oil at $40 per barrel.

Thus, Saudi Arabia and its neighbouring countries will have a major role to play in the global energy markets.

Follows us:

Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin

For More info: chemical industry 

“Chemicals” – Boon or a Curse

Humans are the most advanced and intelligent species in the universe and their greatest exertion is Science, mainly the advancement in Chemical Industry.  The term “Chemicals” is conversationally tainted. As an individual, we are aware of the impact of the chemical industries on medical science, technology, cosmetics and many more. It exists in each and every sphere of our life and has become the most important part in once life.

The contribution done by the chemical industries has solved many queries of the human race. From medical to agricultural and cosmetics to baby products, chemicals are being used in each and every product. Medical science completely depends on chemical industries and its advancement. There was a time when diseases such as TB, typhoid, malaria & pneumonia were considered to be incurable, but in today’s generation medical science have made lot progress and now not only these diseases but even few forms of Cancers are also curable.

Through Chemical industry and engineering, science has imparted us with growth and development. In a broad term, chemical engineers are responsible for the conception and design of processes, for the purpose of production, transportation and transformation of materials. They have even assisted to build up atomic sciences, polymers, papers, dyes, drugs, plastics, fertilizers, foods, petrochemicals and many more.

There are many boons of chemical industry but it is equally responsible for the calamity in the globe. One of the biggest calamities in the world was the Chernobyl disaster, which was a catastrophic nuclear accident that occurred in 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine, it was under direct jurisdiction of the central authorities of the Soviet Union. The tragedy had begun during a system test on 26th April, 1986 at reactor number four of the Chernobyl plant. It had suffered a catastrophic power increase, leading to explosions in its core.

Another catastrophe that had occurred in India was the Bhopal Gas Tragedy which took place in 1984. In the industrial world, it was noted as one of the worst disaster. This tragedy had occurred on 2nd and 3rd December, 1984 at the Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. More than 500,000 people were exposed to methyl isocyanate gas and other chemicals.

Chemicals used in cosmetics can also be harmful. With much of chemicals and preservatives used in today's cosmetics, more women are turning towards natural makeup that does not contain these harmful ingredients. Hair loss is also one of the major problems, due to exposure to certain chemicals used is shampoos and hair dyes. In our daily lives, one is exposed to toxic chemicals and radiation from a wide range of sources. Some of these exposures can also increase the risk of breast Cancer.

However, getting exposed to too much of chemical can be harmful even those chemicals like water or fluoride. It is very important to be more explicit as all matters are made of chemicals.

Follows us:

Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin
More info About : www.globalchemicalprice.com

A wave of change in the Global Chemical Industry

The global chemical industry is said to undergoing huge changes. This transformation was brought about by the increasing focus on and growth of the Chinese economy and other emerging markets. Other factors like the effects of the US shale gas revolution have led to restructuring of the chemical sector and the logical capabilities that sustain the industry.

Nearly two decades ago the effects of globalisation caused a shift in the chemical production centres, which moved from single economies to large continental clusters. These clusters serve their hinterland and also market their products on a global scale. For instance, in the Middle East, both the Gulf Emirates and Saudi Arabia are selling their output into some of the key markets, including Asia, North America and Europe. However, the region now faces tough competition from an unlikely source. The American chemical sector was on the verge of decline, but the shale gas revolution in the US and Canada has improved the industry’s prospects of becoming a major exporter to markets like China. The importance of the chemical logistics sector cannot be denied. This sector provides chemical producers with an opportunity to gain access to global markets.

This shift in global trade has proved beneficial for logistics providers. The beneficiaries include marine bulk storage providers led by Vopak, operators of tank container who can flex their business model to an intercontinental reach.

The chemical tanker sector is more under control when compared to the shipping sector, however the tanker sector is not booming. The chemical terminal and businesses are affected by rapid changes in the chemical trade flows. However, long term developments mean excellent opportunities for those in the right location. But things can go haywire for the ones in the wrong location. Small and medium-sized production locations are threatened by the comparative cost of energy and large scale economies in logistics.

Logistics for downstream products is varying at a slower rate due to the slow change in the nature of customer demand. The most significant development is the rise in demand in China. However, India, South East Asia, Eastern Europe, Turkey and parts of South America continue to have a large appetite for downstream chemical logistics development.

Even the developed markets have witnessed the effects of changing patterns of chemical trade on downstream logistics. The chemical logistics sector is expected to grow by 3 per cent, keeping in-line with the expansion of the chemical sector.

The logistics providers will benefit from a number of opportunities provided by the chemical sector, but the ones who succeed will be the ones who identified the new opportunities and placed themselves in a position to take advantage of it.

Follows us:

Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin
More info About : www.globalchemicalprice.com