Top Ten North American Chemical Projects Planned for 1Q11 at More Than $580 Million

---

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The Chemical Processing Industry (CPI) of North America is expected to begin the year with a substantial momentum over the past two years, with the top 10 projects that are planned to begin construction during the first quarter totaling an estimated $580 million. More than 200 CPI projects are planned to start during the quarter, based on projects identified as part of Industrial Info's North American Project Database. This is a healthy increase over the same quarter last year, when total project activity topped out at an estimated 165 projects.

Top projects include plans by Air Products & Chemicals Incorporated (NYSE:APD) (Allentown, Pennsylvania) to begin construction on an air separation unit addition at the company's plant site in La Porte, Texas. This unit will replace older assets, enabling Air Products to increase overall production. Myriant Technologies LLC (Quincy, Massachusetts) is planning to begin construction this quarter for a grassroot succinic acid plant in Lake Providence, Louisiana. This new plant, with an estimated price tag of $70 million, will use the latest bio-based technology for bio-based specialty chemicals. Lubrizol Corporation (NYSE:LZ) (Wickliffe, Ohio) is planning to begin construction for a new carbopol unit addition at its Calvert City, Kentucky, chemical plant in the next couple of months, which will cost an estimated $60 million to construct.

Like many in the global financial markets, chemical industry professionals are waiting to see which projects begin construction on time to determine what help they can offer in setting the stage for the rest of the year. Overall spending for the first quarter is expected to be more than that of last year, as mentioned in the December 6, 2010, article - First-Quarter Prospects for U.S. Chemical Industry Look Promising.

Grassroot plant prospects for 2011 appear stronger, with 43 new plants planned to begin construction this year, although only three of them are expected to begin during the first quarter of 2011. The major focus this year appears to be moving forward with major unit additions that have been repeatedly postponed or delayed due to economics or market constraints in recent years. A large amount of the spending this year is expected to focus on infrastructure upgrades and equipment replacements that offer lower operating costs or greater efficiency, such as plans by Great Salt Lake Minerals Corporation (Ogden, Utah) for an estimated $35 million reliability and infrastructure upgrade of their potassium sulfate and minerals recovery plant located Ogden, Utah, which is planned to begin in March 2011.

View Plant Profile - 1003087 1062135 1009567 1017824 1517384 1000142 1043072 1507717 1087849
View Project Report - 200004404 200006135 300012538 300023614 300016542 1012951 300010952 300014354 300011453 200001839

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. IIR'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.