Boris Kamchev

BORIS@LUBESNGREASES.COM

Staff Writer - Boris is a staff writer focused on Eastern Europe, Russia and the ex-Soviet lubricant industry. Prior to joining Lubes’n’Greases in 2010, Boris was a Russia-based reporter for several Macedonian news outlets. He had a 16-month stint as a business reporter for The St. Petersburg Times and contributed analyses to an English-language outlet of RIA Novosti, a Russian state news agency. Boris often travels to St. Petersburg, Washington, D.C. and Skopje. Recently, he has also begun a part-time engagement as a foreign correspondent for North Macedonia’s state news agency, MIA.

Recent Articles

Agency Approves Shell Sale to Lukoil

Agency Approves Shell Sale to Lukoil

Russia’s antitrust regulator approved last week Lukoil’s purchase of Shell’s retail and lubricants business in the …

Biden Gives EV Battery Industry $3.1 Billion Kickstart

Biden Gives EV Battery Industry $3.1 Billion Kickstart

The Biden administration recently gave a $3.1 billion kickstart to domestic electric vehicle battery manufacturing. The …

Shell Sells Russia Business to Lukoil

Shell Sells Russia Business to Lukoil

Oil giant Shell signed an agreement to sell its retail and lubricant businesses in Russia to privately owned Lukoil, the …

EU to Embargo Russian Oil, Petrochemicals

EU to Embargo Russian Oil, Petrochemicals

The European Union announced last week firm plans to impose an embargo on Russian oil and refined products, including ba …

Profits Down, Sales Up for Fuchs

Profits Down, Sales Up for Fuchs

German lubricant maker Fuchs Petrolub SE posted a first-quarter 6% decline in earnings after tax and a 16% increase in s …

Russian Motorists Hoard Motor Oils

Russian Motorists Hoard Motor Oils

The winding down of foreign lubricant producers’ operations, the devaluation of the ruble and logistics problems creat …

Poland Demand Jumped 10% in 2021

Poland Demand Jumped 10% in 2021

After a pandemic-induced recession in 2020, lubricant demand in Poland rebounded last year as passenger cars returned to …

Mixed Actions of Lube Suppliers in Russia

Mixed Actions of Lube Suppliers in Russia

Seven weeks into Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, the number of foreign businesses vowing to leave Russia or scal …

Sanctions Set to Staunch Russian Base Oils

Sanctions Set to Staunch Russian Base Oils

The effective date is approaching for a European Union ban on purchases from government-controlled Russian oil companies …

EU Needs 14,000 New EV Chargers Per Week

EU Needs 14,000 New EV Chargers Per Week

Charging infrastructure installation is failing to keep pace with electric vehicle growth and could scupper the Europea …

MOL Increases Grease Production Capacity

MOL Increases Grease Production Capacity

Mol-Lub is expanding its grease factory in Hungary in order to add calcium sulfonate complex greases to its product port …

EPA Penalizes Blender Over Pollution Reports

EPA Penalizes Blender Over Pollution Reports

Lubricant producer Champion Brands LLC was slapped with a $130,243 fee by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) …

Totachi JV Expands in Russia

Totachi JV Expands in Russia

Shell has vowed to close its lubricant business along with other operations in Russia to protest that country’s invasi …

Ukraine War Panics Global Food Markets

Ukraine War Panics Global Food Markets

The world’s key wheat producers, Russia and Ukraine, are at war and this has sewn panic in the global food markets. I …

War Impacts Ukraine Blenders

War Impacts Ukraine Blenders

As Russian forces continue to batter Ukraine, it’s no surprise that Ukraine’s lubricant industry is being impacted. …

Ford Spins Off Electric Vehicle Business

Ford Spins Off Electric Vehicle Business

U.S. flagship carmaker Ford will spin off development and production of electric vehicles from its legacy business to ma …

Pull-outs from Russia Exclude Lube Plants

Pull-outs from Russia Exclude Lube Plants

Several Western oil companies announced the past few days that they will exit joint ventures in Russia to protest that c …

More EV Adoption Means Less Lube Demand

More EV Adoption Means Less Lube Demand

The winds of change in the North American car market blow harder as recent state and corporate modernization steps signa …