Volume 17 Issue 6

SSY Base Oil Shipping Report

Almost anything to do with the Asian market has been subdued over the past week. The European market is ticking over, without really breaking into a sweat, and the U.S. market is doing pretty much the same. U.S. Gulf Celebrations for Chinese New Year certainly took their toll on the route to the Far East over the past 10 days or so, but all the same there has been a reasonable amount of activity into other Asian countries where the break was shorter. February space is now looking quite tight, ev...

More Finished Lube Price Hikes

Valvoline and BP Castrol notified U.S. customers of finished lubricant price increases that take effect in March, citing rising costs for raw materials, packaging and transportation. Valvoline said its prices will rise up to 5 percent, effective March 1. BP Lubricants USA Inc. announced hikes of the same amount, effective March 20 on Castrol and BP branded products. They join other finished lubricant price hikes that marketers informed customers about in recent weeks, among them: ExxonMobil, She...

Q4 Earnings Wrap-up

Afton Chemical, S-Oil and BPs lubricants business each posted higher fourth quarter profits, while SK Lubricants profits were down, all compared to the last quarter of 2015. Afton Chemical Afton Chemical reported operating profit of $75.6 million, up slightly from $75.3 million in 2015s fourth quarter. For the full year, the petroleum additives segments operating profit reached $384.9 million, up 2.7 percent from $374.9 million for 2015. The increase was mainly due to higher sales volume, produc...

Lube Blend Plant Opened In Azerbaijan

Lubricant maker Technol last week opened a 50,000 metric tons per year blending plant located in Azerbaijan, calling it the first blending plant in the South Caucasus region. The U.S. $2.7 million facility is located in the industrial town of Sumqayit, on the Caspian Sea near the capital of Baku. Technol has ambitious plans for future sales expansion into Russia, Iran, Turkey, Georgia and Central Asia. Azerbaijan supplies all of its finished lubricants from import, and Technols competitive advan...

KMG Acquires Valve Specialist

KMG Chemical Inc. acquired Sealweld for $17.4 million, declaring that the Canada-based valve specialist will help to expand its industrial lubricant offerings. The company said it made the $17.4 million acquisition – which includes $4.5 million in working capital – using funds drawn from a revolving credit facility on Jan. 31. With this acquisition, KMG will gain Sealwelds primary facility, and headquarters, in Calgary, Alberta, Canada and additional facilities in Houston, Texas and ...

ATIEL Updates Code of Practice

ATIEL, the European lubricants industrys technical association, released a new version of its Code of Practice, which provides guidance for developers and marketers of engine lubricants designed to meet European performance specifications. The association said the changes bring Code of Practice Issue 20 into line with the latest engine lubricant performance limits set out by the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) in its 2016 European Oil Sequences released on Dec. 1 last year. ...

Briefly Noted

RelaDyne acquired lubricants and greases distributor Sensmeier Oil Co. in Mansfield, Ohio. Oxea declared force majeure in Europe until further notice on butyl acetate, a solvent, citing unforeseen technical issues at its production plant in Marl, Germany. HollyFrontier completed its acquisition of Suncor Energys Petro-Canada lubricants business – including its API Group II and III base oil plant in Mississauga, Canada – for Canadian $1.1 billion (U.S. $836 million). Chemturas stockholders approved its merger agreement under which Lanxess Deutschland Gmbh will acquire Chemturas outstanding common stock shares for $33.50 per share in cash, or $2.5 billion. Subject to conditions, the deal is expected to close in mid-2017. Velocys plc announced the first Fischer-Tropsch product was successfully produced at Envia Energys gas-to-liquids plant in Oklahoma City. The products are fractionated on site to produce premium wax, diesel and naphtha.

Correction

The U.S. Base Oil Price Reports price table in the Jan. 18 Lube Report and subsequent issues didnt reflect API Group II+ and Group III price increases for SK that went into effect Jan. 18. The tables in those issues have been corrected.