Base oil refiners in the Middle East face a slowdown in business from China, following the outbreak of the deadly coronavirus as the crisis shreds lubricant and grease demand in key sectors.

Global lubricant demand is sagging due to a slowdown in China - the market largely responsible for a slow but steady expansion over the past decade, an official from Fuchs Petrolub SE told an industry conference here last month.

Europe installed a record 3,623 megawatts of new offshore wind capacity in 2019, according to statistics released Feb. 6 by WindEurope. However, the association noted, more ambitious growth will be required to meet the goals of the European Commissions Green Deal, which aims to decarbonize Europes energy system by 2050.

United Kingdom-based transformer oil rerefiner Hydrodec Group posted a full-year loss for 2019 and said its revenues declined by more than 22 percent, according to its year-end trading update issued Feb. 14.