Volume 16 Issue 42

SSY Base Oil Shipping Report

It has been an odd week globally, with certain routes having gained some extra activity while others slowed down, particularly in the United States and Europe. U.S. Gulf Routes to the Far East have seen a lot more activity, which is to be expected in the fourth quarter. Styrene had been at the top of the list, but a fire at Westlake Chemicals’ petrochemical plant in Westlake, Louisiana, late last week curbed plans to ship styrene. Ethanol has also been a primary product, with ethylene dich...

Contractor Issues Delay Yanbu Upgrade

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Luberef said new API Group II base oils and bright stock production from its Yanbual Bahr, Saudi Arabia, plant could be delayed by a year due to financial problems for the main contractor. Luberef President and CEO Salahaddin A. Dardeer said he was worried by the situation and that discussions to resolve the issue were ongoing. Dardeer spoke to Lube Report last week on the sidelines of the ICIS Middle Eastern Base Oils and Lubricants Conference in Dubai. In 20...

Total to Blend Lubricants in Russia

French oil major Total broke ground Monday on its first lubricants blending plant in Russia, a project that could dovetail with the countrys emphasis on localizing production and reducing reliance on imports. The plant will have initial capacity to produce 40,000 tons per year of finished lubricants, with the ability to increase that number by 35,000 t/y, Total Vostok, the Russian subsidiary of Total, said in its Oct. 17 press release. The plant will be built on a 17-acre plot in Vorsino, Kaluga...

DIFM Customer Motor Oil Type Awareness High

About 75 percent of do-it-for-me customers are aware of the type of motor oil used for their most recent oil change, while 36 percent of such customers were aware of the oil filter brand used for their most recent oil change, according to NPD Groups Do-It-For-Me Consumer Report 2016 announced last week. The type of motor oil referred to whether the lubricant was conventional, semi-synthetic or full-synthetic, NPD said. The DIFM survey did not gather information about brand preference, NPD told L...

Partner Gets Larger Stake in Hydrodec of North America

Transformer recovery firm G&S Technologies Group acquired 12.45 percent of Hydrodec of North America for $1.7 million – raising its stake to 37.5 percent – per terms of an agreement reached in April 2013. G&S provided $1.37 million in feed stock and $330,000 in cash. Upon completion of the purchase, Hydrodec retains 62.5 percent of the voting interest in the North American business. The 2013 agreement also anticipated that Hydrodecs plant in Canton, Ohio, would be expanded ...

Gazprom Ships Lubes to Colombia

Gazpromneft-Lubricants has started to ship finished lubricants to Colombia, and its distributor in that country is expanding. In a press release last week, the Russian lube marketer said it is supplying G-Energy- and Gazpromneft-branded motor oils, transmission fluids, hydraulic fluids and greases to Columbia and that Petrolubs Colombias has exclusive rights to distribute them there. We have a systematic plan to expand our presence in Latin America, realizing our international markets developmen...

Briefly Noted

Autocommerce d.o.o. will distribute Hexols lubricants in Montenegro, in southeastern Europe. Brenntag acquired the lubricants business of Tonawanda, New York-based Noco, which supplies lubricants to industries in the northeastern United States and southern Quebec, in Canada. The acquisition doesnt impact Nocos energy distribution or retail businesses.