Conventional Base Stocks

Japanese lubricant manufacturers continue to limit supply while the country develops alternatives to crude oil stranded in the Persian Gulf, according ...

Ukrainian long-range drones struck Gazprom Neft’s Omsk refinery on Monday, disrupting production at Russia’s largest API Group II and III ...

The disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has fractured the global base oil market, leaving Europe scrambling for scarce Group III suppl ...

First article in a two-part series from Ernie Henderson examining the history that made base oil markets vulnerable to geopolitical conflict.

July Base Oil Report

July 1, 2026

No end in sight to the chaos in the Gulf.

Vertex Energy Inc. plans to add 6,000 barrels per day of virgin API Group III base oil capacity at its refinery in Mobile, Alabama, with startup targe ...

Australia’s lubricant market is feeling the impact of supply chain disruptions linked to the Middle East conflict, which has sent global base oil pr ...

Vietnam has tightened recycling requirements for lubricant marketers and importers under a new extended producer responsibility regime that took effec ...

June Base Oil Report

May 23, 2026

The current upheaval of base oil markets is severe enough to seem mythical except that lubricant producers are feeling the very real brunt.

Base oil prices are almost three times prewar levels since the United States and Israel launched military strikes against Iran on Feb. 28, tightening ...

A memorandum of understanding between Aster Chemicals and Energy and Puraglobe sets out plans to study a rerefined base oil (RRBO) facility in Singapo ...

May Base Oil Report

May 4, 2026

Base oil supply has tightened and prices skyrocketed since the start of the latest war in the Middle East.

Asian base oil prices have surged to record highs, driven by geopolitical disruption, tightening supply chains and shifting refinery economics, accord ...

April Base Oil Report

April 6, 2026

Like global energy markets, base oil and lubricant markets were roiled by the start of United States’ and Israel’s war against Iran.

China’s base oil imports fell below 1.5 million metric tons in 2025, reaching its lowest point in recent years, declining slightly from 2024 levels, ...

Indian Oil Corp. Ltd (IOCL) and Re Sustainability Ltd plan to establish a nationwide system for collecting and rerefining used lubricating oil in Indi ...

Briefly Noted

March 4, 2026

Vertex Expands Group III Portfolio with VTX-R6 Vertex Energy Inc. has added VTX-R6, a 6 centiStoke API Group III rerefined base ...

Malaysian waste management company and rerefiner Pentas Flora will supply rerefined API Group II+ and Group III base oils to Japan, formalizing its en ...

March Base Oil Report

March 2, 2026

U.S. base oil producers handled this year’s arctic blast much better than in 2021.