Paraffinic Group I

United States Base Oils Bounce Back?

United States Base Oils Bounce Back?

April 1, 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on the United States base oil market during 2020. It was, as industry veteran Stephe ...

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Shell to Close Singapore Plant

December 18, 2020

As part of an initiative to decarbonize its refining operations in Singapore, Royal Dutch Shell plans to permanently clo ...

U.S. Hits Lowest Base Oil Production Since Great Recession

U.S. Hits Lowest Base Oil Production Since Great Recession

November 2, 2020

Refiners in the United States produced 25.9 million barrels of base oils in the first half of 2020—10% below what they ...

Redrawing the Map for Base Oils

Redrawing the Map for Base Oils

November 2, 2020

The onset of the coronavirus pandemic was like a mighty gust of wind that blew asunder the many ships sailing the seas o ...

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Brazil Court Orders Halt to Refineries Sale

September 23, 2020

Brazil’s top court ordered a temporary halt this week to efforts to divest eight refineries owned by national oil comp ...

Base Oil Report: Trends

Base Oil Report: Trends

August 5, 2020

Put down your hammer and coffin nails, cautions Ray Masson: Recent tightness in the market shows this old category is st ...

Isla Refinery Agrees to Deal with Klesch

Isla Refinery Agrees to Deal with Klesch

January 1, 2020

Refineria di Korsou - the Curacao government entity that owns the Isla Refinery - announced an agreement last week for i ...

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IMO 2020 Approaches

November 27, 2019

With the IMO 2020 regulation on marine fuels scheduled to take effect in just over a month, vessel operators and ports a ...

Iranian Exports Redirect to Iraq

Iranian Exports Redirect to Iraq

November 12, 2019

Iraq has emerged as Irans main export market for base oils as the weight of United States sanctions shut down the Islami ...

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Base Oil Margins Squeezed by Glut

October 16, 2019

Global finished lubricant demand isn't keeping up with expanding base oil supply, threatening the cash margins of minera ...

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Group I Pressure Forecast to Continue

October 2, 2019

The loss of market share that API Group I base oils have experienced for many years will likely continue and accelerate, ...

Group I Still Valuable in Shifting Market

Group I Still Valuable in Shifting Market

September 18, 2019

API Group II base oil has overtaken Group I in terms of global production capacity and will likely continue to distance ...

Brazil Selling Refineries with Base Oils

Brazil Selling Refineries with Base Oils

July 31, 2019

Arguing that privatization will lead to cheaper energy products, the administration of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonar ...

Base Oil Capacity Overhang to Shape Market

Base Oil Capacity Overhang to Shape Market

July 10, 2019

Its not an industry secret that the discrepancy between base oil production capacity and finished lubricants demand is g ...

Shipping Base Oils to Where They Aren’t

Shipping Base Oils to Where They Aren’t

March 20, 2019

Regional imbalances in base oil supply and demand lead to large volumes being shipped all over the globe. The pattern of ...

Bright Stock Supply Shrinks

Bright Stock Supply Shrinks

January 31, 2018

Global bright stock demand was 2.7 million tons in 2017, but is expected to decline by approximately 250,000 tons by 202 ...

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Premature Epitaph for Group I Base Oils?

May 1, 2014

The news has been full of dire warnings about the inevitable demise of Group I base oils. But a marketing consultant doe ...

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Group II, III Continue Growth

October 9, 2013

API Group III base oil will enjoy the strongest base stock demand growth through 2017, followed by Group II, consultancy ...