Volume 8 Issue 20
Shell Accelerates Refinery Contraction
May 14, 2021Royal Dutch Shell has accelerated its timeline for reducing the crude oil throughput capacity of its refinery on Singapore’s Pulau Bukom island. That reduction – which the company has said would cause the closing of the refinery’s base oil plant – is now due to be completed in July.
Profits Jump for Korean Base Oil Refiners
May 14, 2021South Korean base oil refiners SK Lubricants, GS Caltex and Hyundai Shell Base Oil, along with Thai Oil’s lube base oil business, all recorded much higher profits for the quarter ending March 31, compared to the same period in 2020.
Grease Touted for Robot Joints
May 14, 2021Greases can offer advantages over gear oils in helping to prevent wear of precision reducers – known as RV reducers or robot joints – an official from a Chinese lubricant supplier said during an online conference last month.
From Other Editions of Lube Report
May 14, 2021Petrobras Extends Lubnor Sale Deadline
Briefly Noted
May 14, 2021Japan’s Mitsui Chemical started commercial production in April at its new plant in Ichihara, outside of Tokyo, of synthetic hydrocarbon fluids that it makes under the Lucant brand name. They are primarily used as viscosity modifiers in lubricants. Southeast Asia sales of four-wheel automobiles grew 43% to 281,494 in March, compared to the same month last year, according to Asean Automotive Federation data. The sales for the first quarter of this year were up 7% at 732,931, increasing from 683,537 in 2020’s first quarter, suggesting continued recovery after sales dropped nearly 30% in 2020.