By David Reed, UT EditorLondon-Unfortunately, the article on the propylene oxide (PO)/polyether polyols supply and demand situation in our last issue (UT June/July 2005, p22), contained two serious mistakes.Firstly, I gave the wrong Chinese partner for the massive Shell Chemicals project in Nanhai, People's Republic of China: this is CNOOC Petrochemicals Investment Ltd, the investment arm of China National Offshore Oil Co.The other error concerned the PO plant of The Dow Chemical Co. in Stade, Germany. Far from being a "problem" as stated in the report, "it has been setting production records for us," a company spokesperson said, with the two-week shutdown earlier this year being for planned maintenance.The report also seriously understated the plant's capacity, which is 590 ktpa.Apologies to the companies concerned and to any readers who were misled by these errors.David Reed, Editor Urethanes Technology magazine"
