Adrian Brown is away.

With testing for existing engine oil specifications becoming tenuous, the API Auto Oil Advisory Panel expressed concern recently that introduction of the GF-6 passenger car motor oil category, already behind schedule, could be further delayed. The AOAP met June 30 and reviewed new delays in the development of several engine tests that are part of GF-6, the next PCMO category being developed. The panels discussion, which took place during the semi-annual meeting of the ASTM D02 Committee on Petro...

American Refining Group committed to a 33.3 percent equity investment in Novvi LLC – a joint venture of Amyris and Cosan – and, through its lubricant blending business, will help provide an outlet for Novvis biobased base oils. The amount of ARGs investment and the total capitalization of the joint venture were not disclosed. The Novvi joint venture was formed in 2011 by Emeryville, California-based Amyris Inc., a U.S. developer of renewable chemicals technology, and Brazilian sugar ...

German metalworking fluids manufacturer Oelheld recently broke ground on a 23,400 square foot manufacturing and warehouse facility in West Dundee, Illinois, to meet increased demand for its products in the United States. The facility will serve as a new headquarters for Oelheld and will increase its production capacity, the company announced last week. Located in the Oakview Corporate Park, it also gives the company more storage space and establishes a research and development laboratory and a s...

Gazprom Neft acquired Rospolychem Group, a Russian manufacturer of specialty oils such as aviation lubricants and rolling oils whose customers include the countrys military. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Gazpromneft Lubricants, a subsidiary of the Russian oil major, will now operate Nizhny Novgorod-based Rospolychem, which is a group of companies that produce lubricants such as engine oils, transmission oils and hydraulic fluids along with specialty chemicals such as extender oils, addit...