Amid calls for the automotive and lubricant industries to reform their process for developing automotive engine oil standards, the president of one chemical additive company said the market cannot afford to continue establishing industry and OEM specifications in parallel.

The Singapore Lube Park - a joint venture between Sinopec, Total and Shell - officially opened in the islands Tuas area last week. The facility includes an import and export jetty, common pipelines, infrastructure and storage facilities for the partners lubricant and grease manufacturing plants.

Indias GP Petroleums Ltd., a subsidiary of the United Arab Emirates-based Gulf Petrochem Group, posted a 100 percent rise in its fourth-quarter net profit, driven by higher sales during the period.

A young and literate workforce coupled with market liberalization should help Vietnams lubricant market to continue growing at a healthy clip, but supplier consolidation is also expected, an industry insider said during a seminar ahead of the ICIS Asian Base Oils & Lubricants Conference in Singapore earlier this month.

Pakistani lubricant supplier Hi-Tech Lubricants Ltd. aims to increase sales by expanding into Afghanistan and launching a chain of retail fuel outlets in the domestic market.