Analysts say the market should be up again by the time his olefins project goes on stream.

CNN: T TAKES SOME NERVE

His latest deal: a venture with the United Kingdom's Trans Pacific Petrochemical to build Indonesia's second olefins plant.

CNN: T TAKES SOME NERVE

One recent chemicals initiative is Sasol Alpha Olefins, which makes octene, used in detergents, and hexene, used in cellophane.

FORBES: Overcoming Isolation

The Olefins segment manufactures and markets ethylene, polyethylene, styrene and associated co-products.

FORBES: #1,487 Westlake Chemical

Exxon Mobil is a major manufacturer and marketer of basic petrochemicals, including olefins, aromatics, polyethylene and polypropylene plastics and a wide variety of specialty products.

FORBES: Dow Ideas: Dupont, Boeing, Exxon And Chevron

It operates its business through two segments: Olefins and Vinyls.

FORBES: #1,487 Westlake Chemical

Meanwhile, researchers at the French Petroleum Institute have found that they can perform another industrially important reaction linking small molecules called olefins together more cheaply in ionic solvents than in conventional ones.

ECONOMIST: Ionic solvent