Many oil-based chemical products continue to see price erosion, with the result that world trade is coasting, with just immediate needs being covered until a more definite trend appears. U.S. Gulf The only route that is experiencing a reasonable degree of demand is the transatlantic eastbound market. Styrene is the hot commodity, and several 10,000 ton cargoes have been booked into both Northwest Europe and the Mediterranean. Rates are said to have been done in the upper $40s/t to Antwerp-Rotter...

Heritage-Crystal Clean acquired FCC Environmental for $90 million, adding 54 million gallons per year of used oil volume. Heritage officials said Friday it doesnt intend to build a rerefinery FCC was planning in Maryland. Elgin, Ill.-based Heritage-Crystal Clean has an Indianapolis rerefinery with capacity to make 2,400 barrels per day of API Group II base oil. The company operates through 76 branches serving over 97,000 customers. In addition to collecting and rerefining used oil, Heritage-Crys...

The Nigerian Custom Service this month stated that base oils will once again be subjected to an import tariff of 10 percent, cancelling previous announcements that the duty was being cut to 5 percent. Officials with the Lubricant Producers Association of Nigeria expressed dismay that the agency would reduce a tariff reduction for which it had lobbied. It is a worrisome development because the only motivation behind the increase in tariff on imported base oils to 10 percent is revenue generation,...

Lubrizol invested $20 million in its additive blending operations in Le Havre, France, saying it will help the company cope with increased complexity brought about by low SAPS and high-tier engine oils. The engine oil market has grown fractured by a growing number of performance specifications, as the industry balances demands for better fuel economy and stronger wear protection. At the same time, restrictions on the use of sulphated ash, phosphorus and sulphur – all found to compromise di...

Chemtura announced it will undertake expansions of its antioxidant capacity at chemical plants in Canada, Italy and Taiwan. Officials said the company is responding to demand growth resulting from the push for greater fuel efficiency in automobiles. Philadelphia-based Chemtura produces alkylated diphenyl amine liquid antioxidants for lubricants at plants in Elmira in Ontario, Canada; Latina, Italy; and Kaoshiung, Taiwan. It plans to boost capacity at those locations by 20 percent, 25 percent and...

Russias Gazprom Neft Lubricants started to ship lubricants to Moldova, a poor, underdeveloped country in Eastern Europe, the company said last week. Gazproms first cargo to Moldovan dealer Tirex Petrol included Gazpromneft- and G-Energy-branded products: motor oils, transmission oils and technical fluids. It includes synthetic and semi-synthetic products for passenger cars and heavy duty vehicles, as well as lubes for two-stroke engines and antifreezes, Gazprom Neft Lubricants said in an Oct. 16...

BPs Castrol and U.S.-based TechSolve launched Optis last week, a 50-50 joint venture which Castrol says is the first such agreement between a lubricant manufacturer and a machining process and supply chain consultancy. Based at TechSolves Cincinnati, Ohio, headquarters, the new venture-for which equity terms were not disclosed-will combine TechSolves machining and manufacturing process improvement business with Castrols lubricants development, marketing and sales operations. Both companies will ...

Net income for WD-40 reached $11.5 million for the quarter ending Aug. 31, up 42 percent from the year earlier quarter. It was the fourth quarter of the fiscal year for the San Diego-headquartered company. Net income for the fiscal year ending Aug. 31 reached $43.7 million, up 9.8 percent from its fiscal 2013 results. For the WD-40, 3-in-One and Blue Works lubricants segment, worldwide net sales reached $85.2 million for the fourth fiscal quarter, up 4.5 percent from the year-ago period. The pro...