Volume 16 Issue 8

SSY Base Oil Shipping Report

The lack of prompt space in the U.S. Gulf has been a major cause of frustration for traders. Demand in Asia is starting to escalate on some routes, whereas Europe looks to be slightly quieter. U.S. Gulf Prompt space to the Far East remains elusive, and those owners who managed to hold on to some space have been able to capitalize, with rates in the mid $80s per metric ton being achieved this week on 5,000-ton parcels from Houston to Yangtze. Much of March is already full, and traders are finding...

Plant Closing Threatens Corfree Supplies

Invista recently announced plans to close its Victoria, Texas, plant on March 31. At that site the company manufactures C12 intermediates, which include Corfree M1, a corrosion inhibitor that is widely used in metalworking fluids. Longtime distributor Sigma-Aldrich has discontinued selling samples of Corfree M1, and states that no substitute or replacement is available. Invista has not responded to specific questions from Lube Report about plans to sell Corfree M1 after they close their Victoria...

Turkish Base Oil Restrictions Lifted

LONDON-As of last month, restrictions on the sale and transfer of base oils in Turkey were lifted, allowing these stocks to be stored and distributed within licensed areas of the country, Selim Sanver, managing partner at Serem Petrol, reported at an industry event here last week. The Turkish government is backing away from restrictions put in place in January 2014, meant to curb the rampant misuse of base stocks in fuel adulteration. Businesses had been taking advantage of significantly lower i...

Axel Americas Expands Grease Plant

Axel Americas completed expansion of its grease plant in Mississippi, done in response to growing demand for its industrial and automotive greases supplied to multinational companies and large distributors in the Americas. The expansion at the plant in Rosedale includes a new calcium sulfonate production line and additional polyurea production line, the company said Monday in a news release. The investment includes four new production kettles, a programmable logic controllers (PLC) system with a...

Nigerian Blenders Dispute Scarcity of Textile Lubes

Nigerian officials said a shortage of textile lubricants contributed to the downfall of the countrys textile industry, but blenders there told Lube Report that it was the other way around. The debate was set off by Waheed Olagunju, executive director of small and medium enterprises for the Bank of Industry, who noted at a BOI Vocational Skills Competition in Kaduna that lack of lubricants was one of many factors that contributed to the collapse of the textile industry in Nigeria. Femi Adekoya, h...

Q4 Earnings Wrap-up

Calumet Specialty Products Partners posted a net loss, Chemturas industrial products segments operating income was up, and Cosan Lubrificantes reported increased net revenue, all for the fourth quarter, compared to the year-earlier quarter. Calumet Calumet Specialty Products Partners posted a net loss of $116.8 million for the quarter ending Dec. 31, down further from a $63.5 million loss in the year-earlier period. Full-year 2015 net loss amounted to $139.4 million, down from $112.2 million. Ex...

Briefly Noted

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency extended its Feb. 22 deadline for submitting comments and more data for the ongoing preliminary risk assessment of medium- and long-chain chlorinated paraffins to March 23. RelaDyne acquired Huntington, Texas-based Industrial Action Services Inc., which performs oil flushing and chemical cleaning system decontamination services throughout the United States and Canada. Under the new Nationwide Network Shell Lubricants partnership, Bridgestone Americas will sell Shell Lubricants products nationwide throughout its affiliated retailer network.