Volume 8 Issue 15
China Forecast to Continue Group III Imports
April 9, 2021Chinese refiners have opened several API Group III base oil plants in recent years, but for several reasons they do not meet the needs of local lubricant blenders. As a result, one analyst predicts, imports will probably continue to dominate the nation’s Group III market.
Japan’s Demand on Upswing
April 9, 2021Japan’s finished lubricants consumption reached 128,987 kiloliters in February, up 7% from 120,394 kL in the same month in 2020, according to data released recently by a government agency. The country’s production of lubricants, including volumes that are exported, fell 7% to 169,813 kL in February.
Meridian Buys Malaysian Lube Producer
April 9, 2021Meridian Adhesives Group acquired Pacific Adhesive Systems, a Malaysia-based corporation with lubricant and grease operations, Meridian announced last week.
From Other Editions of Lube Report
April 9, 2021Base Oils Recover to Pre-pandemic Levels
Briefly Noted
April 9, 2021Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd. exported 11,300 tons of lubricants between April and December of 2020, the Mumbai, India-based company said in its earnings release for the quarter ending Dec. 31.
Correction
April 9, 2021An article in the March 26 issue, “Profits Drop at AP, United Global,” initially mistakenly listed United Global’s net profit attributable to shareholders as gross profit and loss. The company posted a gross loss of U.S. $264,000 for 2020 after a gross profit of $19.7 million in 2019. The article also failed to mention that United Global has four pillars other than its lubricants operations: logistics and shipping; oil absorbent materials; trading of fuels and related products; and recycling and sustainability.