Europe had another busy week, causing freights to strengthen. Asia seems to be tight on space for the remainder of December, but the U.S. market remains flat and rather uninteresting. U.S. Gulf The Far East trade lane is the only one from the U.S. in which there is renewed activity. It is along the lines of previous weeks, with cargoes of methanol, ethylene dichloride, phenol, styrene, butanols and glycol being quoted. Rates are also fairly similar. A shortage of December space might define how ...

HOUSTON – The semi-annual ASTM meetings here last week included discussions by several groups at the center of engine oil specification development, and they appeared to make significant headway toward adoption of the long-delayed ILSAC GF-6. A variety of committees reported progress on several tests that help make up the next full upgrade to North American passenger car engine oil standards. It now looks possible that GF-6 could be finalized by the end of the first quarter of 2018. The Pa...

Adnoc Distribution raised 3.1 billion dirham (U.S. $851 million) from an initial public offering that closed last week. The sale of a 10 percent stake will see Adnocs Voyager brand of finished lubricants sold in new markets and continuation of a supply agreement sourcing API Group III base oils from Adnoc Refining. The offering marks the first time a national oil company has opened its distribution business to international investors. According to its IPO prospectus issued last month, the compan...

Green Oil and Lubes obtained a $38.7 million loan to support completion of its API Group II base oil rerefinery in Romania. The $56 million project includes construction of a base oil rerefinery that can process up to 72,000 tons of waste oil per year and creation of a network for collection of waste oils. The rerefinery will be located on a 15-acre land plot in the southern Romanian city of Oltenita, a Danube river port. Mazarali Kamumiya Saiyed, a majority shareholder in Green Oil and Lubes, s...

Specialty chemicals and minerals company ICL entered into an agreement to sell its fire safety and oil additives business units to private investment firm SK Capital for roughly $1 billion, the companies announced late last week. The acquisition is expected to close in the first half of next year, pending the completion of customary closing conditions. ICLs fire safety business supplies class A and B foams to extinguish fires as well as chemicals and services for fighting wild fires. Its oil add...

Fuchs Petrolub Group recently acquired Romanian lubricant distributor Lub Asyst. In 2016, Lub Asyst generated some 4 million (U.S. $4.7 million) in sales revenues. The deal, which took effect on Dec. 1, included the Bucharest-based entitys labor force and client base. The companies did not disclose the price of the transaction. A distributor of Fuchs industrial oil and greases in Romania for many years, Lub Asysts activities complement those of its German parent company in the Eastern European c...