Volume 16 Issue 10

SSY Base Oil Shipping Report

Heavy demand for space continues to stoke the fires in the U.S. Gulf. Asian markets are a little more promising, while Europe is unchanged. U.S. Gulf On routes to the Far East, all that is left in terms of space for March is the odd tank here and there, but virtually nothing larger than 2,000 metric tons. Even April is turning out to be busy and space is beginning to look tight enough that owners are seriously considering sending further vessels over from Europe in ballast and putting them on be...

Hydrodec Unloads UK Operations

Citing tough market conditions, Hydrodec Group sold its United Kingdom operations – including its waste oil collection business and a proposed rerefinery – to a substantial shareholder for 1 pound (U.S. $1.43) and assumed debt. The company said it conducted a detailed review of the operations following a significant deterioration in their outlook. This deterioration has been driven predominantly by the rapid decline in global oil prices and continued challenging market conditions, wh...

Ghana and Nigeria Lead in West Africa

LONDON – Prospects are improving in West African lubricant markets, especially Ghana and Nigeria, according to two speakers at the ICIS World Base Oils and Lubricants Conference held here last month. When I look at the whole of West Africa, I find that two countries really stand out: Ghana and Nigeria, said Taiye Williams, managing director of Nigerian company Lubcon Ltd. Afton Chemicals Craig Stoddart concurred, saying those two countries are among the five most attractive markets in Afri...

Fire Damages Axel Plant in Mississippi

A fire erupted at Axel Americas LLCs manufacturing facility in Rosedale, Miss., on Feb. 29, damaging recently installed process equipment. The company suspended production and delivery of new material, which was expected to last at least 10 working days, and said it is currently targeting to start partial production mid-week. Axel noted it made several dispatches of finished goods from the sites warehouse last week, the day after the fire. Axel issued a statement saying local officials are inves...

Wax Supply to Lag Demand

Global wax supply is projected to grow from 10.5 billion pounds in 2014 to 10.7 billion pounds in 2019, falling short of wax demand growth over that time and resulting in a wax deficit, according to Kline & Co. Wax demand is projected to grow from 10.5 billion pounds in 2014 to 11.3 billion pounds in 2019, growing at about 9.5 percent annually, said Pooja Sharma, a project lead in U.S.-based consultancy Kline & Co.s energy practice, during an online web presentation Feb. 24. Most of th...

Petronas Relocates Argentina Blending Plant

Petronas Lubricants International last month began construction of a blending plant in the Ezeiza Industrial Park in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where it will relocate its existing operation in the South American country. Guilherme Rodrigues de Paula, regional head of Latin America for PLI, said in a press release that the relocation is being done to allow the company to strengthen its supply chain and logistics footprint, and increase production capacity to support the growing Latin American lubri...

Q4 Wrap-up

Heritage-Crystal Cleans oil business segment posted lower sales, and Milacron reported lower operating earnings for its Industrial Fluids segment in the fourth quarter, compared to the year-earlier period. Heritage-Crystal Clean Heritage-Crystal Cleans oil business segment reported $32 million in revenues for its fourth fiscal quarter ending Jan. 2, down 35.6 percent from $49.7 million a year earlier. During fiscal 2015, oil business segment revenues added up to $123.7 million, down 17.2 percent...

Briefly Noted

Univar Inc. subsidiary ChemPoint became the master distributor of Dow Cornings Molykote line of industrial lubricants and greases. Calumet Specialty Products Partners welcomed Tesoro Corp.s Bruce Fleming to its new role of executive vice president of strategy and growth.