Kuwaiti Government Probes Dow Deal

In the wake of the decision by the International Court of Arbitration that Kuwait’s Petrochemical Industries Co. must pay Dow Chemical $2.16 billion (C&EN, May 28, page 26), the Kuwaiti government is launching a probe into the failed joint venture between Dow and PIC, according to the Kuwait News Agency. PIC was to purchase half of Dow’s petrochemical operations for $7.5 billion, but the government pulled out of the partnership in early 2009 amid the global financial crisis. “The panel is tasked with recommending the necessary punitive measures in case it found any irregularity or misconduct,” says Hani Abdulaziz Hussain, Kuwait’s minister of oil. “It will also discuss the ruling of the arbitration panel in a bid to reduce the damages incurred on the Kuwaiti side as a result of the cancellation.”