Volume 17 Issue 14

SSY Base Oil Shipping Report

There has been a bit more activity in the United States, and European markets are generally performing well. Asia, however, is still having to deal with a reduction in demand and overcapacity of ships on some routes. U.S. Gulf The first styrene cargo for several months has been quoted on the U.S. Gulf to Far East route as U.S. refineries come back on-stream, rapidly followed by further similar requests. Traders are also taking a look at paraxylene and mixed xylenes while ethylene dichloride cont...

Group III Expansion Expected for N. America

North America is a large importer of API Group III base stocks but it produces only a small portion of those oils. As the regions demand for Group III continues to grow, many industry insiders predict that local production of these oils will also expand. Industry sources expecting to see increased North American Group III production say it will most likely come from existing Group II refiners modifying part of their operations to make Group III. One supplier, Motiva, is reportedly already invest...

Finished Lube Price Hikes Continue

ExxonMobil, Chevron, Chemlube, Pinnacle Oil and Old World notified U.S. customers of upcoming price increases on finished lubricants that go into effect in from about mid-April to mid-May. Factors cited included increased costs for base oils, additives and raw materials used in manufacturing. ExxonMobil notified customers it will increase prices by up to 4 percent on its branded and unbranded lubricants and greases effective May 10. Chevron announced to customers a general price increase on a...

EPA Expected to Switch Course on CPs

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will reconsider its use of Toxic Substances Control Act Section 5 to review medium- and long-chain chlorinated paraffins as new chemicals and instead expects to review them as existing chemicals under TSCA Section 6, the Independent Lubricant Manufacturers Association said in an update to its members Monday. Chlorinated paraffins are chlorinated alkanes that have carbon chain lengths ranging from 10 to 38, with varying degrees of chlorination. Those with ...

Russian Car, LCV Motor Oil Consumption to Grow

Russian passenger cars and light commercial vehicles consumed 280 million liters of motor oils in 2016, up 4.3 percent from 2015, and the growth of its active vehicle fleet should spur a recovery for its lubricants market, according to a recently published report. Replenishment of the active passenger car and light commercial vehicle park in Russia is expected at an annual growth rate of 2.3 percent and 3.5 percent, respectively, by 2019, said Victor Pushkarev, head of projects at Autostat. Also...

Synthetics Pioneer Amatuzio Dies

Amsoil Inc. founder Al Amatuzio, a pioneer in the marketing of synthetic engine oils in the United States, died Friday at the age of 93. Amatuzio formed Minnesota-based Amsoil in 1972 with a business model specifically focused on the supply of passenger car motor oils formulated with synthetic base stocks. While other companies have disputed the companys claim to have been the first U.S. marketer of such products, Amsoil became one of the countrys main and steadiest promoters of synthetics. Acco...

Briefly Noted

Despite a target date of April 1, the split of Saudi Aramco and Royal Dutch Shells joint venture Motiva has yet to officially occur. The two companies expect the split to happen by the end of the second quarter this year. The European Commission approved under EU Merger Regulation the acquisition of Chemtura by Germany based Lanxess; and granted conditional regulatory clearance in Europe of the proposed merger between DuPont and Dow Chemical, conditional on divestiture of parts of DuPonts global pesticide business. Infineum announced the retirement of its Americas sales director, Ken Kalisky, effective March 31, and confirmed his position was assumed by Fabian DeVita, currently Latin America sales manager.