Volume 3 Issue 21

Afton Opens Singapore Plant

Afton Chemical opened a lubricant additives factory in Singapore last week, joining the ongoing march of lubricant and additive suppliers to Asia and to this island nation in particular.

Group II, III Demand Rise in China

Growth in China's overall consumption of lubricants and base oils slowed due to a downturn in the countrys industrial sectors, but API Group II and III markets are strengthening, according to an analyst at an industry conference in Singapore last week.

BP Whittles Stake in Castrol India

BP announced Thursday that it had sold an 11.5 percent share of Castrol India, leaving it with a 59.5 percent stake. The United Kingdom-based oil major is selling assets to raise cash but said it wants to retain control of the Indian lubricant supplier.

Songwon Enters Lube Antioxidant Market

South Korean specialty chemicals manufacturer Songwon Industrial Co. is expanding its product range of phenolic antioxidants for the Asian fuel and lubricant additives market, citing overall economic growth and rising automotive sales in the region.

Hi-Tech Lubricants Q3 Profit Surges

Pakistani lubricant supplier Hi-Tech Lubricants Ltd. reported a 110 percent rise in its third-quarter net profit, thanks to higher other income and lower expenses.

Briefly Noted

PT Pertamina and Saudi Aramco awarded an engineering and project management services contract for the upgrade of Pertaminas Cilacap, Indonesia, fuels refinery. Due to be completed in 2022, the project includes an upgrade of the refinerys 425,000 metric ton per year API Group I base oil plant. Iberian Lube Base Oils Co., a Group II/III base stock joint venture of SK Lubricants and Repsol, will begin supplying oils to India and the United States, Spanish news outlet La Verdad reported.