Top 10 Chemical Industry Spenders Contribute More Than $3 Billion to 2012 Capital Spending

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The top 10 capital project spenders of the Chemical Processing Industry (CPI) are contributing an estimated $3 billion toward an overall industry total of $8.3 billion based on projects identified by Industrial Info that are planned to begin construction in 2012. Unsurprisingly, projects motivated by cheap natural gas dominate the list of biggest projects. Natural gas prices continue to fall and recently reached lows not seen in nearly 10 years.

Westlake Chemical Corporation (NYSE:WLK) (Houston, Texas) is planning an estimated $454 million in capital projects to begin construction this year. The largest of these projects is the addition of a chlor-alkali unit at the company's Geismar, Louisiana, chemical plant. This project has been in the planning phases for more than five years, and Westlake is expected to finalize and award a general contractor for the project by May 2012.

Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LLC (CPChem) (The Woodlands, Texas) has four significant capital projects planned to begin construction this year totaling an estimated $420 million, putting the company among the top 10 spenders for 2012 so far. Each of these projects is planned to take place in Texas, with two centered on feedstock advantages and the long-term outlook for natural gas prices.

Among the single largest projects are plans by CJ America Incorporated (Downers Grove, Illinois), a subsidiary of CJ CheilJedang (Seoul, Korea), for a new amino acids (lysine) plant in Fort Dodge, Iowa, to provide the regional market and local dedicated customers with livestock feed additives.

The remaining list of top CPI spending companies in 2012 includes Canadian Fertilizers Limited (Medicine Hat, Alberta), BASF Corporation (Budd Lake, New Jersey), BASF Fina Petrochemicals LP (Port Arthur, Texas), Honeywell International Incorporated (Morristown, New Jersey), NOVA Chemicals Corporation, Occidental Chemical Company, and Air Products & Chemicals Incorporated (NYSE:APD).

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Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, and eight offices outside of North America, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.