Poland’s Lotos Group recently awarded an engineering, procurement and construction contract for an upgrade and expansion of its base oil plant in Gdansk, Poland, and in doing so disclosed that the project will give the facility capacity to make 400,000 metric tons per year of API Group II base stocks.

Italy recycled 98% of used lubricating oils collected in the country in 2020 – the fourth consecutive year that it exceeded that level – according to data in Italy’s 2021 Recycling Report released last month. Italian law allows three dispositions for waste lubricants: rerefining, use as industrial fuel and thermal destruction.

Investment firm SK Capital has completed its purchase of a controlling stake in Seqens, a French producer of chemicals for pharmaceuticals, as well as lubricant additives. SK Capital bought out Eurazeo, another private equity firm, for an undisclosed amount and is now partners with existing minority shareholders plus quasi-public French investment entities.