Editors Note: This will be the final SSY Base Oil Shipping Report to appear in Lube Report, where it has run for 11 years. See article for more information.It has been a quiet week out of the U.S., with most December requirements having already been covered. Europe is rather slow, while in Asia there are long lists of December cargoes but no available space.-by Adrian Brown

Chevron and Casablanca, Morocco-based energy company Akwa Group reached an agreement to create an African lubes hub in Morocco, the companies announced late last month.

Africa recycles less of its used lubricants into base oils than other regions, and several obstacles stand in the way of increasing that amount, industry officials said at a conference in Cape Town, South Africa, last month.

The trend toward electrified vehicles will mean an increase in demand for Group III+ base stocks because they will be needed to formulate engine oils for hybrid and plug-in hybrid cars, a consultant said at a recent industry conference.