Volume 10 Issue 8
Luberef Reconsiders Closing Jeddah
February 19, 2025Citing improved market conditions, Luberef said Tuesday that it is considering keeping open its API Group I base oil plant in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, which has been slated to close. The company also reported a 36% drop in net income for 2024.
Carmakers Launch Process for GF-8
February 19, 2025With the latest gasoline engine oil performance specification scheduled to come to market next month, automakers in North America are wasting no time launching work on the next standard.
State Investigates Moove Fire
February 19, 2025Prosecutors in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro opened an investigation into a large Feb. 8 fire at a Moove finished lubricant factory on Governador Island.
Lube Deliveries Drop Steeply in Germany
February 19, 2025Domestic deliveries of finished lubricants in Germany plummeted 39% in October, compared to the same month of 2023, an especially weak performance in a down year for the country’s lube market.
Tupras Stops Buying Russian Crude
February 19, 2025Turkey’s largest oil refiner and sole virgin base oil producer, Tupras, is no longer buying Russian crude feedstock after tightened sanctions imposed earlier this year.
From the Previous Edition
February 19, 2025Crews Battle Blaze at Moove’s Rio Site
Lubrizol to Axe Staff in France
Briefly Noted
February 19, 2025White oil production in Azerbaijan fell to 590,000 metric tons in 2024 from 618,000 tons in 2023, a 4.5% decline, according the country’s State Statistics Committee.
BASF-YPC will likely close its ethanolamines plant in Nanjing in April 2025 for a six- to seven-week maintenance turnaround. The plant has production capacity of 130,000 tons per year. Ethanolamines are used for a variety of applications, including as intermediates in the preparation of water-soluble lubricants.
In a recent bulletin from ATIEL, lubricant marketers are reminded that they must satisfy themselves that the development and production of a finished lubricant has been carried out in compliance with the ATIEL Code of Practice and the provisions of the European Engine Lubricant Quality Management System. Products either meet the ACEA engine oil sequences claims or they do not.