Lyondell units get Chapter 11 approval

Lyondell Chemical Co received bankruptcy court approval on Wednesday to access more than $2 billion in interim debtor-in-possession financing and an emergency $100 million loan, saying it had run out of cash.

The funding, approved at a US bankruptcy court hearing in Manhattan, will allow key units of LyondellBasell, the world's third-largest maker of petrochemicals products, to keep operating.

Nearly 80 affiliates of LyondellBasell, including its US operations, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Tuesday, weighed down by heavy debts, volatility in oil prices and reduced demand due to the economic downturn. The company needed immediate funds to pay down more than $1 billion in debt due over the next few weeks, and has also run out of cash to fund operations, Alan Bigman, chief financial officer at Lyondell Chemical, said in court on Wednesday.