Business Concentrates PETROCHEMICALS
Scientist gets 10 years for theft of gene-modified rice U.S. customs agents found seeds in luggage headed to China Chinese scientist Weiqiang Zhang was sentenced on April 4 to more than 10 years in a federal prison for conspiring to steal samples of genetically altered rice seeds from his employer, the Kansas biotech firm Ventria Bioscience. A Kansas jury had convicted Zhang in February 2017 on theft charges, including
Scientist Weiqiang Zhang is going to jail for stealing genetically modified rice. conspiring to steal trade secrets and giving them to a visiting delegation of scientists from a Chinese crop research institute. Zhang, 51, a rice breeder, helped develop gene-altered rice designed to express recombinant proteins. Zhang’s case is similar to a number of others in which scientists have stolen intellectual property from their employer and given it to researchers in other countries. For instance, Dow AgroSciences researcher Kexue Huang pleaded guilty in
2011 to stealing trade secrets from Dow Chemical and Cargill and passing them on to Chinese researchers. In 2010, DuPont engineer Michael Mitchell was sentenced to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty to passing on DuPont’s aramid fiber trade secrets to South Korea’s Kolon Industries. According to court documents and evidence the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) presented at the trial, Zhang’s role in the conspiracy surfaced in August 2013 when U.S. customs agents discovered multiple packets of Ventria rice seed in the luggage and carry-on bags of a delegation from a Chinese crop research institute. The group was headed back to China after a tour of U.S. agricultural facilities that included a visit to Zhang’s home in Manhattan, Kansas. Some of the seed was packaged in makeshift containers, including a newspaper page folded into an envelope and a plastic bag from a Best Western hotel. Zhang, who has a master’s degree from Shengyang Agricultural University and a Ph.D. in agricultural genetics from Louisiana State University, stole hundreds of rice seeds from Ventria and stored them in his home prior to the delegation’s visit, DOJ said. The seeds included varieties developed to produce human serum albumin, contained in blood, and lactoferrin, an iron-binding protein found in human milk.—MARC REISCH
REAL ESTATE
Sold! DuPont Country Club DuPont has sold its 98-year-old country club in Wilmington, Del., to a pair of local investors. The club covers 500 acres and boasts three golf courses, 25 tennis courts, a clubhouse, and a historic estate. The buyers have strong ties to DuPont: Ben du Pont is a descendant of company founder E.I. du Pont; Don Wirth was a DuPont supply-chain executive when he retired in 2014. The two say they plan to invest $18 million in the club and continue its operations.
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C&EN | CEN.ACS.ORG | APRIL 16, 2018
Aramco plans global chemical push In an effort to plunge deeper into petrochemicals, Saudi Aramco has signed agreements to invest more than $60 billion in oil and chemical projects in the U.S., India, and Saudi Arabia. In the U.S., the company’s Motiva refining arm signed a preliminary agreement to use ethylene technology from the engineering firm TechnipFMC. Motiva also signed a deal with UOP for aromatics production and extraction technology that would be used to build a benzene and p-xylene complex on the U.S. Gulf Coast. Motiva expects these projects to cost between $8 billion and $10 billion, though it won’t make a final investment decision until 2019. In India, Aramco signed a memorandum of understanding to build a $44 billion refining and petrochemical complex with partners Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum, and Hindustan Petroleum. To be located in Ratnagiri, India, the facility would upgrade 1.2 million barrels of oil per day, making it among the world’s largest refineries. The petrochemical complex would have 18 million metric tons of annual production. Aramco also signed an agreement with the French oil company Total to build a $5 billion ethylene cracker downstream from a refining joint venture in Jubail, Saudi Arabia. The parties also plan to build $4 billion in ethylene derivatives units at the site. They will commence front-end engineering and design later this year. Aramco, the Saudi national oil company, is keen on investing in petrochemicals as a new outlet for its vast production of oil as the transportation fuel market matures and, eventually, declines. Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman observed the signing ceremonies in Houston and Paris. He has made diversification of the Saudi economy a national priority.—ALEX TULLO
CR E D I T: I STOC K ( R I CE ) ; D U PO NT CO U N T RY CLUB ( C LU BH O U S E )
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
