Paraffinic Group II

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IPO Considered for Luberef

April 5, 2022

Luberef, a base oil joint venture of Saudi Aramco, is considering an initial public stock offering that would aim to rai ...

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Workers Strike at Richmond Refinery

March 23, 2022

More than 500 members of the United Steelworkers union went on strike Monday at Chevron’s refinery in Richmond, Califo ...

Base Oil Report: Trends

Base Oil Report: Trends

March 1, 2022

Group II is the workhorse grade in the lubricants industry right now, but how firm is its position in the world of heavy ...

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Shell Mulls Group II in Singapore

February 11, 2022

British energy giant Shell is considering building an API Group II base oil unit at its refinery on Singapore’s Pulau ...

As the Pendulum Swings

As the Pendulum Swings

February 1, 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic led to sharp changes in base oil pricing and margins. Will the market settle into a new post-pande ...

Lotos Discloses Group II Capacity

Lotos Discloses Group II Capacity

January 4, 2022

Poland’s Lotos Group recently awarded an engineering, procurement and construction contract for an upgrade and expansi ...

Base Oil Report: Pricing

Base Oil Report: Pricing

December 1, 2021

The Winds of Change After several months of fairly tumultuous and heated market conditions—with monthly posted pric ...

Group I Prices Diverge from Group II, III

Group I Prices Diverge from Group II, III

November 16, 2021

After a long, large run-up from the spring of 2020, base oil prices in Europe began retreating since summer, indicating ...

Is Bright Stock Irreplaceable?

Is Bright Stock Irreplaceable?

November 1, 2021

The price for bright stock increased dramatically in early 2021, incentivizing lubricant formulators to seek immediate a ...

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Sinopec Starts Dormant Group II Plant

October 8, 2021

Sinopec has finally started up an API Group II base oil unit at its Yanshan Petrochemical refining complex, eight years ...

Base Oil Report: Trends

Base Oil Report: Trends

October 4, 2021

A Time of Transition   The past 18 months have not been particularly wonderful for the active industries involve ...

Kazakhstan to Make Group II, III

Kazakhstan to Make Group II, III

September 21, 2021

Kazakhstan is working on several new petrochemical refining projects carrying a combined price tag of U.S. $12 billion, ...

Poland’s Lotos to Add Group II, III

Poland’s Lotos to Add Group II, III

August 3, 2021

Lotos Group will spend 1.4 billion Poland zloty on investment projects in 2021, one of which includes modernization of i ...

Profits Up for S-Oil, Hyundai Shell

Profits Up for S-Oil, Hyundai Shell

July 30, 2021

South Korean refiner S-Oil’s base oil business and Hyundai Shell Base Oil both reported large increases in profits and ...

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Closures Could Keep Base Oils Tight

July 2, 2021

Although oil refineries should eventually ramp back up to normal operating levels, and while this should make more feeds ...

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IOCL Plans Another Base Oil Plant

April 16, 2021

Indian Oil Corp. Ltd. plans to build an API Group III base oil plant at its refinery in Panipat – part of a broader ex ...

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 ...

Lukoil Streams Group II in Volgograd

Lukoil Streams Group II in Volgograd

February 2, 2021

Lukoil last week commissioned a new API Group II base oil plant at its refinery in Volgograd, Russia. The 10 billion rub ...