Chem Connection

ChemConnect acquires gas liquids trading platform

Houston, TX  April 1, 2002  ChemConnect Inc., which operates an online marketplace for chemicals and plastics, announced that it has acquired the natural gas liquids (NGL) trading platform of Altra Energy Technologies Inc.


The strategic consolidation, which offers ChemConnect members immediate increased liquidity in natural gas liquids (NGLs), also provides access to market information and the opportunity to incorporate risk-management tools into daily business processes. Additionally, Altra's customers will have access to the full range of chemicals and plastics that ChemConnect provides.


"Natural gas liquids are the basic building blocks in our industry. As with other commodities, their cost and availability impact the entire supply chain," said John Robinson, ChemConnect president and CEO. "By consolidating online NGL trading on ChemConnect, we are providing buyers and sellers of chemicals and plastics, as well as pure-play NGL traders, access to expanded trading opportunities in both NGLs and complementary products. This is a natural next step for ChemConnect as we continue to expand our offerings to provide online solutions that match our members' daily business processes."


NGLs, which include ethane, propane, butanes, and natural gasoline, are used as feedstocks for refineries and petrochemical plants. ChemConnect Members conduct NGL spot and over-the-counter forwards trades through ChemConnect today. Now, ChemConnect's NGLs will be supplemented by more than 2,700 monthly Altra Chalkboard transactions.


According to ChemConnect, the company hopes that the acquisition will also foster a deeper and wider view of market conditions in the global chemical market. As trading liquidity increases, access to reliable information on prices and supply and demand trends also grows, providing ChemConnect members with information that can help them make better buying and selling decisions on a daily basis.


By the same token, ChemConnect said it expects over-the-counter forward trading opportunities to be enhanced for both ChemConnect and Altra's Chalkboard customers.

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