Author: Editor
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EU Energy Security Depends on US and Nigeria
Europe’s winter energy vulnerability exposes how replacing Russian dependence with new suppliers may have diversified risk rather than eliminated dependency.
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OPEC+ Freezes November Oil Targets
OPEC+ is expected to freeze November production targets, pausing further increases while actual Gulf output remains constrained below pre-war levels.
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India buys Cheap Iraqi Crude
India secures deeply discounted Iraqi crude as regional disruptions reshape oil flows and create unusually attractive buying opportunities for Asian…
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China Suspends Fuel Exports
China halts most October fuel exports, prioritising domestic supply as Middle Eastern and Russian disruptions tighten regional markets and boost…
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The Challenges of Pyrolysis Oil
Pyrolysis oil promises circular plastics, but significant technical and economic challenges remain. Expensive purification, hydrogen consumption, variable feedstocks, limited yields,…
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Wanhua Settles US Antitrust Lawsuit
Wanhua Chemical agrees to a $7.75 million settlement in a US antitrust case involving alleged MDI and TDI price fixing.
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Newsom Killed California’s Plastic Recycling Crackdown
Governor Newsom vetoed California’s major recycling bill, handing the powerful petrochemical industry a massive corporate victory over advanced plastic regulations.
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Thai Chemical Leaders Move Toward Mega-Merger
Thai petrochemical giants PTT GC and SCGC advance a massive joint venture, aiming to finalize the mega-merger terms by October.
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More Pesticides, Less Red Tape: EU New Food Safety Gamble
EU member states back longer pesticide approvals and simpler procedures, prompting warnings that weaker safeguards could increase food-chain risks Europe-wide.
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Biofuels Are Cannibalizing Bioplastics
EU biofuel mandates are driving up renewable feedstock prices, squeezing bioplastics producers and intensifying competition for scarce bio-based raw materials.
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Trinseo is undergoing Chapter 11 bankruptcy restructuring
Trinseo’s Chapter 11 restructuring has hit delays as disputes between lender groups move into mediation. The plastics and specialty materials…
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Plastics are toxic study
New report warns that chemicals in everyday plastics may threaten human health, with most assessed substances high-risk while regulation lags.
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Global Plastic Limits Could Come at a Price
Global Plastic Production Limits Could Raise Consumer Prices While Recycling Delivers Better Results, New Chemical Industry Study Claims Worldwide Today
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EU Targets Chinese PVC Imports After INEOS Complaint
INEOS welcomes European Commission investigation into unfair PVC imports and calls for urgent reform of EU trade defence.
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Restructuring at Aramco
Aramco weighs a major gas restructuring and possible Arlanxeo sale as it reshapes its energy, chemicals and downstream portfolio.
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Dangote Kenya Refinery on Appropriated Land?
A Kenyan court land dispute raises questions over Dangote’s planned 700,000-barrel-per-day refinery as local residents claim ancestral ownership of the…
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Evonik rejects BASF offer
BASF approaches Evonik with a €10.3 billion takeover offer, but the German chemicals group rejects the proposal as too low.
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LG Chem and Volkswagen Join Forces on Recycled Automotive Plastics
LG Chem and Volkswagen partner to develop next-generation automotive plastics with more recycled content, targeting lightweighting and future electric vehicle…
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Vietnam Turns to ExxonMobil to Diversify Crude Oil Supply
Vietnam’s BSR partners with ExxonMobil Asia Pacific to diversify crude supplies, strengthen energy security and increase flexibility at the Dung…
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TotalEnergies Strike Threatens French Fuel Supply
CGT calls an October strike across TotalEnergies sites, raising concerns over refinery disruption and possible pressure on French fuel supplies.
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The Challenges of Plastic Waste Management
The article examines the real trade-offs of plastic waste management, from recycling and reuse to exports, bioplastics and incineration, questioning…
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Middle East Tensions Boost European Chemical Distributors
Middle East tensions are lifting European chemical distributors’ margins as customers pay premiums for reliable supply amid ongoing geopolitical uncertainty.
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Did Bio-On’s Technology Really Exist?
Bio-on’s rise and collapse remains one of Italy’s most controversial bioplastics stories, raising questions about technology, finance and industrial destruction.
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How China Replaced EU as a World Power
China’s long-term rise in science, technology, industry and geopolitics contrasts with Europe’s declining influence, competitiveness and global strategic weight.
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US Diesel Ban Could Hit Europe Hard
A possible U.S. diesel export ban could strengthen Trump’s leverage over Europe by turning fuel supplies into a bargaining tool.
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EU Namibian Hydrogen Dream Collides With Oil
EU-backed green hydrogen ambitions in Namibia collide with major oil discoveries, increasingly shifting attention toward lucrative offshore petroleum development.
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US Outplays the EU in the Balkans
While Brussels pursues ambitious climate goals, Washington pushes American gas into the Balkans, turning energy geopolitics into commercial opportunity.
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EU Hires Vatican AI Guru to Lead EU AI Policy
Brussels discovers its ideal AI expert: a Vatican guru who reportedly never uses AI, making him perfectly qualified for EU…
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TotalEnergies Board Backs CEO for Another Mandate
TotalEnergies’ board backs Patrick Pouyanné for another mandate as Les Echos highlights five achievements that shaped his leadership.
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French Documentary: Inside France’s Waste Mafia
A French documentary investigates the country’s waste mafia, exposing illegal trafficking networks through the testimony of former waste trafficker.
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Belgian Waste Processor Burns Down in Major Industrial Fire
A major fire burned through a Belgian waste-processing site in Roeselare, raising questions about safety, waste handling and investigation.
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BASF Should Buy Evonik: Europe Needs a Chemical Champion
BASF confirms exploratory talks regarding potential takeover of Evonik
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France Guards Saudi Oil, Turns to Nigeria
France deploys military assets to protect Saudi oil infrastructure while increasingly turning to African suppliers as Europe reshapes its energy…
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China Tightens Chemical Exports to Help US Fight Fentanyl
China tightens chemical export controls on fentanyl precursors, linking industrial chemical trade with the wider fight against drugs and organised…
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Italy Defies Brussels on Compostable Plastics
Italy’s compostable-plastics exemption raises questions over actual composting capacity, market interests, and the potential long-term consequences for Italian food production.
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Chemical Recycling Comes to Town, Residents Push Back
Residents near W.R. Grace’s Maryland site are pushing back against chemical recycling, citing emissions, odors, safety risks and transparency concerns.
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EU Commission Stops Regulating Europe for One Year
The European Commission announces a one-year freeze on new legislation and regulation, using the pause to review existing rules, administrative…
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Oil, Chemicals and Plastics on the Trump–Xi Agenda
Trump–Xi talks could reshape oil, chemicals and plastics through tariffs, Iranian crude, industrial overcapacity, critical minerals and supply-chain restrictions.
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Brussels Makes Packaging Complicated
PPWR turns ordinary plastic packaging into a technical compliance burden, pushing more documentation, proof and red tape onto European businesses.
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TotalEnergies Lifts Force Majeure on Polypropylene Supplies
TotalEnergies has lifted force majeure on polypropylene supplies, easing disruption and improving availability for customers across the polymer market.
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Trade Unions: Italian Government Backed ENI’s Chemical Shutdown
Italian trade unions accuse the government of backing ENI’s retreat from basic chemicals, warning that plant closures could hit workers,…
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Eni Priolo Pyrolysis Plant: A Risk Analysis
Eni plans a 40,000-tonne pyrolysis plant in Sicily. We examine the technology, scale-up challenges, feedstock quality, purification needs, economics and…
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Inside Eni’s Offshore Holdings and Fiscal Construction
Eni’s foreign holding structures raise questions about why Libyan assets flow through Dutch entities, taxation, transparency and where profits ultimately…
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Saudi Arabia Turns Away From Europe
Saudi Arabia redirects more crude toward Asia, while Europe faces tighter supplies, higher costs and growing pressure on its struggling…
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The World Is Running Out of Oil Tankers
A global shortage of supertankers is driving freight costs higher, making long-distance crude shipments more expensive and squeezing refinery margins…
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McKinsey Report: Energy Security
A short summary of the McKinsey report on the Hormuz crisis and its impact on global energy security.
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Dangote Plans Refinery and Petrochemical Complex in Kenya
Dangote plans a huge Kenyan refinery and petrochemical complex, with Engineers India winning a $450 million engineering and management contract.
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Braskem Ownership Changes Hands
Braskem’s ownership is changing as IG4 takes over Novonor’s stake, while Petrobras remains a major shareholder amid financial pressure.
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The Price of Oil Is Hitting India Hard
India’s oil import bill jumped 48% despite lower volumes, as higher crude prices, tighter supplies and soaring freight costs hit…
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OPEC’s 2026 Oil Growth Forecast Is Evaporating
OPEC has slashed its 2026 oil demand growth forecast by 73%, raising questions about whether global demand could soon decline.
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Lotte Stops South Korea PET Recycling Project
Lotte cancels its planned PET chemical recycling plant, raising questions over whether industry confidence in advanced recycling is beginning to…
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Ineos Stops Production in the UK
Ineos halts UK production as soaring gas costs deepen Europe’s industrial crisis, prompting a satirical swipe at government economic policy.
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Belgium’s Gas Supply Falls
Belgium enters winter with lower gas arrivals as Ukraine continues disrupting the energy infrastructure Europe once relied on.
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The Oil Shock Is Becoming a Plastics Shock
Oil disruption is spilling into plastics, driving up feedstock, production and shipping costs across the global petrochemical and polymer industries.
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Libya Oil Pipeline Shut by Armed Group
An armed group shut Libya’s Sharara pipeline, cutting oil production by around 200,000 barrels per day and disrupting exports.
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Roman Abramovich: The Last Soviet Golden Boy
Roman Abramovich’s journey from Soviet-era entrepreneur to global tycoon traces the rise of Russian capitalism, Chelsea’s transformation, Putin’s Russia and…
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Is Europe’s Chemical Recycling Model a Fraud?
A European investigation raises serious questions over chemical recycling, as pyrolysis oil is sometimes burned as fuel instead of becoming…
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Europe Faces Major Jet Fuel Shortage
Europe faces a major jet fuel shortage as Middle East disruptions tighten supply, drain inventories and increase dependence on Asian…
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TF1 Exposes Italy’s Toxic Waste Problem
TF1 investigates decades of illegal toxic waste dumping in Italy, exposing the devastating environmental and health consequences for local communities.
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Saudi Arabia’s Biggest Oil Pipeline Hit
Saudi Arabia’s largest oil pipeline was reportedly damaged by a drone attack, disrupting Red Sea exports and pressuring global oil…
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Eni Versalis at the Berlaymont Cafeteria
“Mr Versalis, what is the most successful dish at the Berlaymont cafeteria?”
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PepsiCo and the Great Plastic Puzzle
PepsiCo explores Aduro’s advanced recycling technology as a potential route to turn difficult plastic waste into valuable reusable feedstocks.
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Don’t Produce Less Plastic — Recycle More, Study Says
Study argues better waste collection and recycling could cut plastic pollution more cheaply than limiting production and raising consumer prices.
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EU Says Don’t Export Waste — Then Sends It to Turkey
Europe cannot recycle all its plastic waste, so it ships the problem to Turkey. Brussels calls this environmental policy.
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Andy Burnham, Clown Extraordinaire
Andy Burnham, inventor of McLaren socialism: tax the British, then celebrate the supercars they can no longer afford.
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Shell & Equinor Warn Energy Crisis Is Coming
Shell warns that shrinking energy buffers and Middle East disruptions could trigger a deeper global energy crisis and sharper price…
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Many EU Citizens Don’t Know Who Ursula von der Leyen Is
Many Europeans still struggle to identify Ursula von der Leyen, exposing Brussels’ persistent gap between institutional power and public recognition.
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EU Greenwashing Rules Collide With “Circular” Plastics
EU greenwashing rules collide with mass-balance accounting, raising questions over whether fossil-based plastics can legitimately be marketed as circular.
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Who Is Still Under Petrochemical Force Majeure?
Middle East disruptions triggered widespread petrochemical force majeure declarations, with several producers still facing unresolved supply constraints six months later.
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PFAS Lawsuit Targets 3M, DuPont and Chemical Giants
PFAS trouble is closing in on the chemical giants as firefighters drag 3M, DuPont and others into court over toxic…
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EU Now Depends on Nigerian Oil
Europe is increasingly turning to Nigeria’s Dangote refinery as Middle Eastern disruptions tighten fuel supplies and reshape traditional energy trade…
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China Revolutionises Oil Refining
Chinese researchers unveil membrane-based oil refining technology that could cut energy use, emissions and costs across fuels, chemicals and plastics.
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BASF Starts Breaking Itself Up
BASF prepares an Agricultural Solutions IPO as restructuring accelerates, potentially reshaping one of Europe’s biggest and most important chemical groups.
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ENI Faces Hundreds of Millions in Potential Biofuel Cartel Damages Claims
ENI faces potential compensation claims as litigation specialists prepare damages actions following Italy’s €936.7 million biofuel cartel decision involving six…
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Was There Insider Trading in the Oil Futures Market?
Suspicious oil trades before a major Trump announcement raised insider-trading concerns, prompting scrutiny of who knew what, and when.
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Australia’s Wind Energy Fairy Tale
Farmers are increasingly drawn into the wind-energy business, often carrying the local costs of the green transition.
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Saudi Pipeline Breakdown Puts Global Oil Supply at Risk
Saudi pipeline trouble threatens a key oil export route, raising fears of tighter global supply, higher prices and petrochemical disruption.
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EU’s Chemical Collapse Was Made in Brussels
Brussels piled regulation, energy costs and climate obligations onto chemicals, weakening competitiveness while cheaper foreign producers steadily captured Europe’s market…
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SABIC Decides European Petrochemicals Aren’t Worth It Anymore
SABIC is selling its European petrochemicals business as weak demand, high costs and global competition pressure the region’s downstream industry.
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Europe Helped Destroy Eurasia’s Downstream
Europe helped isolate Russian refining. Now Ukrainian strikes are tightening diesel markets, exposing the strategic cost of dismantling Eurasian energy…
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Bio-on: The Bioplastics Scandal That Still Raises Questions
Bio-on’s collapse still raises questions over auditors, financial oversight and the Italian government’s role in the company’s dramatic downfall.
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Oil Prices Triple Depending on Location
Oil prices are diverging sharply worldwide as shipping disruptions make geography increasingly important, creating huge premiums and discounts between crude…
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World Oil Demand Is Falling
IEA expects global oil demand to fall sharply in 2026 as high prices weaken consumption, especially across Asian petrochemical markets.
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Braskem’s Debt Crisis Deepens
Braskem’s debt restructuring depends on securing enough creditor support, leaving the Brazilian plastics giant facing renewed financial uncertainty.
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TotalEnergies Takes Full Control of Plastic-to-Oil Plant
TotalEnergies takes full control of Grandpuits plastic pyrolysis, converting difficult waste into synthetic oil for producing new plastics.
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Germany’s Leuna-Polyamid Shuts Nylon Production
Leuna-Polyamid will end nylon production in Germany after failing to find an investor, amid high costs and Chinese competition.
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Evonik Shuts Two German Chemical Plants
Evonik will close two German chemical sites, shifting production elsewhere as weak demand, Asian competition and margin pressure hit operations.
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Trump Wants More Oil Refineries
The White House is considering emergency powers to expand U.S. oil refining capacity as fuel prices rise and supply concerns…
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Leaked: Ursula von der Leyen’s State of the Union Speech
We obtained a copy of the leaked draft of Ursula von der Leyen’s upcoming State of the Union speech.
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Europe Wants Strategic Independence — But Can’t Finance It
Europe wants strategic independence, but foreign financing for critical industries exposes the growing gap between Brussels’ ambitions and economic reality.
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Brent Is European, But It Takes Orders From Washington
How Brent became American overnight — and what it says about Europe’s disappearing geopolitical influence.
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Trump vs China: The Oil Price War
Trump’s Iran strategy may squeeze China’s oil lifelines, boost American crude, and push Beijing into an even tighter energy alliance…
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EU Blames China for the Collapse of Its Chemical and Plastics Industry
Europe blames China for its industrial decline, but Brussels may need to confront how much of the damage is self-inflicted.
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21 Energy Companies Want to Explore for More Oil in Norway
Twenty-one energy companies have applied to explore for new oil and gas resources in Norway.
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Chemours, DuPont and Corteva Pay $455 Million Over PFAS Pollution
Chemical giants agree to pay $455 million to settle claims over PFAS pollution linked to contaminated water supplies in North…
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Bio-Based Plastics: Local Crops, Global Profits
Bio-based plastics promise local production and European value, but intensive agriculture, corporate concentration and struggling farmers expose serious environmental and…
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Canada Gets a New Oil Giant
Tamarack Valley and Headwater are merging in a C$10 billion deal, creating a major new Canadian crude oil producer.
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EU May Limit Cheap Chemical and Plastic Imports
EU countries are considering limits on cheap chemical and plastic imports to protect struggling European producers.
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Dow May Quit Aramco Plastics Venture
Dow may sell its 35% Sadara stake as weak demand and industry pressures intensify globally.
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Where Did the Ottoman Empire’s Oil Go?
European powers and later American oil companies competed for Ottoman petroleum. After the empire collapsed, its former oil territories became…
