Volume 4 Issue 18

ACEA Releases Updated Oil Sequences

The European Automobile Manufacturers Association published a long-awaited update to its passenger car engine oil specifications on April 30 – more than two years after the changes were originally scheduled to be adopted. The association implemented the new specs immediately, declaring that licensing for them could begin the following day, on May 1.

Profits Climb for BP, Fuchs

The first quarter of 2021 was bullish for two of the world’s largest lubricant suppliers, BP’s Castrol unit and Fuchs Petrolub SE. Castrol doubled its underlying replacement cost profit before interest and tax, compared to the same period of 2020, while German independent blender Fuchs reported strong increases in profits and sales.

Taif, Sibur Merge Petrochemicals

Russian oil and gas companies Sibur and Taif, which recently launched finished lubricant production in Nizhnekamsk, are merging their petrochemical assets. Under the deal, Taif’s existing shareholders will receive a 15% stake in Sibur in exchange for a controlling stake in Taif Group, Sibur said in its April 23 news release.

From Other Editions of Lube Report

Equity Firm Buys 40% of SK

Profits Climb at S-Oil, Castrol India

EPA Changes Tack on California Standards

Briefly Noted

Malmo, Sweden-based Perstorp Oxo AB increased prices effective May 1, or as contracts allow, on n-valeric acid – a carboxylic acid used in esters for synthetic lubricants – citing supply and demand and rapidly increasing costs. For bulk, the increases are by $250 per metric ton in Europe, 14 cents per pound in the United States and $300/t in the rest of the world. For its packed form, the increases are by $415/t in Europe, 23 cents/lb. in the U.S. and $500/t in the rest of the world.