India rerefiner IFP Petro Products announced last week that it has entered a partnership with Germany-based Avista Oil AG to expand its rerefining and other operations. Avista officials said the venture allows the company to expand into India, which they described as an attractive rerefining market.

Japan’s lubricants production volume declined 16%, and its domestic lubricants sales volume dropped 46% in April, compared to volumes in the same month last year, a Japanese government agency reported Wednesday. Lubricants exports for the month decreased 14% to 59,790 kL.

Adverse trends in supply chain and sales, including unstable base oil prices and rupee depreciation, were among market factors cited by Indian companies in earnings announcements for the quarter ending March 31, the fourth fiscal quarter of most companies in India.