Employees at ExxonMobil’s Beaumont, Texas, refining complex and lubricant manufacturing plant completed an election last week on a request to decertify the United Steelworkers local union that represents workers at the site. The federal National Labor Relations Board has delayed releasing the results while it investigates allegations of unfair labor practices by ExxonMobil, which denies the allegations.

The United States produced 5.2 million barrels of base oil in October, a 4% increase from the same month in 2020 and just shy of the October 2019 total, according to the latest data from the U.S. Energy Information Agency. It was the first month since April that base oil volume was below the 5.4 million barrels mark.

Base oil production in Brazil in November was slightly lower than in the same month last year, ending a streak of three consecutive months in which year-over-year totals were at least 20% higher. Base oil imports were also down by nearly 30% in the month.