Basell and ConocoPhillips have signed a new long-term contract for Basell to exclusively market the polypropylene produced at ConocoPhillips' plant in Linden, N.J. Basell has been the exclusive marketer of polypropylene produced at this facility since it first began operations in 2003. Basell North America President Michael Mulrooney said, "For the past five years, this plant has been a reliable source of quality products. The long term extension of this marketing agreement ensures that our highly valued customers will continue to benefit from these resins for years to come."

The Dow Chemical Co. will stop producing and marketing hydroxyalkyl acrylates (HAA) by the end of 2007. Dow's HAA product line includes hydroxyethyl acrylate (HEA) and hydroxypropyl acrylate, which are sold largely to major coatings formulators for use in automotive topcoat applications. "Dow's competitiveness in the HAA market has deteriorated significantly as a result of high raw material costs, industry overcapacity and declining demand with a shift to low acid HAA products," said Chris Kok, global HAA product manager, in a Dow announcement. "Moreover, after carefully reviewing our options, we believe that we can generate more value by directing our resources and capital towards other promising growth initiatives that better fit with Dow's emphasis on more innovative products and market-facing businesses. "