Liquid natural gas is an increasingly popular source of fuel in China for long-haul buses and trucks, and this means they will require different types of engine oils.

SK Innovation on Thursday retracted its application to conduct an initial public stock offering for its base oil and lubricants subsidiary, SK Lubricants.

The global base oil market is mired in a surplus that grows larger with every expansion and new plant opening. So when Hrnd decided to expand its East China plant, it opted to make stocks for applications other than lubricants.

BASF and Malaysias Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd. will build Southeast Asias first highly reactive polyisobutene plant in Malaysia, the companies announced last week.

S-Oils base oil business posted higher second quarter operating income thanks to healthy Group III prices, but SK Lubricants had a lower operating profit blamed on a maintenance shutdown and weak base oil spreads.