Tetra slates bromine output

The oil and gas services company Tetra Technologies intends to spend $100 million on a project to develop its Arkansas brine resources. The company says it will build a plant to produce bromine, calcium chloride, and sodium chloride from brine reserves it has amassed around Magnolia, Ark., over the past decade. Bromine-containing clear brine fluids are used in oil and gas recovery. Albemarle and Chemtura are currently the only two U.S. producers of bromine, and both also operate in the Magnolia area. However, Tetra CEO Geoffrey M. Hertel says Tetra's project won't threaten them because it will replace bromine chemicals that the company now imports.