Volume 5 Issue 8

Contract Accepted at ExxonMobil Site

A 10-month lockout at ExxonMobil’s Beaumont, Texas, refinery and lubricant plant is over after union workers voted Monday to accept a contract with the company. Members of United Steelworkers Local 13-243 voted 214-133 to accept the new deal.

Bill Seeks Consumer Access to Auto Data

A bill introduced Feb. 2 in the U.S. House of Representatives would ensure vehicle owners and their chosen repairers have access to necessary repair and maintenance tools and data as vehicle technology advances and would require informing vehicle owners that they can choose where and how to get their vehicles serviced.

China Moves to the Top of the Heap

A new nation is king of the hill in terms of base oil capacity, after China surpassed the United States in 2021 following a decade-long surge in investment. Two more expansions and an operational change at a third plant last year brought annual nameplate capacity in China to 14 million metric tons, slightly ahead of the United States, according to Lubes’n’Greases’ Base Stock Plant Data.

Moove Posts Decline for Fourth Quarter

Cosan’s Moove posted lower net income and sales volume amid an increase in revenue for the quarter ended Dec. 31 but reported big increases in income and revenue for the full year. The lubricant production and distribution arm of São Paulo-based Cosan, had net income of 56.8 million Brazilian reals for the fourth quarter, a 2% slide from R57.8 million the previous year.

From Other Editions of Lube Report

Gazpromneft Increases Overseas Sales

Moresco to Merge China Factories

China Base Oil Imports Fall Again

Briefly Noted

ExxonMobil expanded its finished lubricants distribution network in the United States in the Pacific Northwest, adding Tyree and Nelson Petroleum as new distributors, while expanding the territories of CityServiceValcon and Snider Energy. Effective Feb. 1, they replaced Wilcox & Flegel as authorized distributors of Mobil-branded products and services in their respective territories.  Montreal, Canada-based distributor Catalys Lubricants acquired lubricants and automotive fluids manufacturer Nemco Lubricants & Chemicals, including a plant in Winnipeg and warehouses in Regina and Saskatoon.  King of Prussia, Pennsylvania-based distributor PetroChoice Lubrication Solutions appointed Roy Rosas CEO and member of its board of directors. Rosas succeeds Celeste Mastin, who will remain a board member.