Widespread public holidays last week confounded attempts to develop new business in all the key regions, making it one of the quietest weeks of the summer.-by Adrian Brown

Shell Lubricants and Comercial Importadora, S. de R.L. de C.V. - known as CISA - recently announced a new joint venture partnership in Mexico that includes investments in existing facilities, increased lubricant production capacity, new marketing capabilities and local workforce training and development.

Refineria di Korsou - the Curacao government entity that owns the Isla Refinery - issued non-exclusive letters of intent to multiple prospective operators of its sparsely run facility, the entity announced last week, taking one more step toward choosing a final preferred operator.

A consultant told an industry conference that lubricant companies can benefit from crude oil price volatility if they carry minimal inventories, accurately forecast sales and use a mix of long-term and spot contracts for base stock procurement.