Over the past eight months, a number of incidents have had severe impacts on base oil cargoes, extending delivery times and catapulting freight rates to all-time highs. Attacks by Houthis on commercial vessels passing Yemen and drought in Panama both profoundly affected marine transportation and the trade of base oils and lubricants, Gulf Oil Marine’s COO, Safiul Gazi, said at the 16th ICIS Asian Base Oils and Lubricants Conference held in Singapore.

The merger announced last week between SK Innovation and SK E&S will create the largest private energy company in the Asia-Pacific region, with assets worth 100 trillion won (U.S. $72 billion).

Grease production in India will ramp up by almost 37% over the next six years, according to a Mumbai-based producer. Speaking at a recent industry conference in Singapore, M. Hari Prakash, CEO of Siddharth Group, said greater demand for construction equipment is driving growth, a signal of stronger economic performance.

Contrary to expectations, lubricants showed no significant signs of degradation in two heavy-duty hydrogen-fueled internal combustion engines, finds newly published research by Southwest Research Institute.

Operators shutdown a sewage plant in Castlegar, a town in British Columbia, Canada, after illegally dumped engine oil in the sewer contaminated the treatment pits. The incident illustrates the potential hazards of used lubricants, even to facilities designed to process waste.