Volume 5 Issue 6

Minsk Stock Exchange Hosts Lube Trades
February 8, 2022A stock exchange in Minsk, Belarus, started regular trading of finished lubricants last week after officials saw increased interest for trades of these products on its electronic platform. The Belorussian Universal Commodity Exchange, a joint stock company with a controlling stake owned by the government, plans to host the buying and selling of automotive engine oils as well as hydraulic and transmission fluids, compressor and turbine oils and other industrial lubricants of domestic and foreign ...

Base Oils: Will Pendulum Swing Back?
February 8, 2022The COVID-19 pandemic triggered a long, large, global run-up in base oil prices, as well as profit margins, with the latter increasing anywhere from two- to five-fold by last summer. Since then, however, prices and margins have plateaued and some market insiders predict the industry is headed back to pre-pandemic conditions, when a chronic surplus of capacity exerted downward pressure on prices and compressed margins.

Castrol Profits Rise in 2021, Slip in Q4
February 8, 2022BP reported that the underlying replacement cost profit before interest and tax for its Castrol lubricants business climbed 27% in 2021, driven by growth in premium product sales and growth markets, but dropped 21% in the fourth quarter because of additive shortages and higher base oil prices.

Russian Light Vehicle Sales Rose in 2021
February 8, 2022New passenger and light commercial vehicle sales in Russia increased by 4.3% in 2021, driven primarily by positive sales in the second quarter of the year, a Russian trade association said.
From Other Editions of Lube Report
February 8, 2022U.S. Base Oil Production Falls
Briefly Noted
February 8, 2022Vivo Energy Cote d’Ivoire, which distributes and markets Shell branded lubricants and fuels in Cote d’Ivoire in West Africa, appointed Abou Sow as its new managing director effective Feb. 1. Sow succeeded Mohamed Chaabouni, who served as CEO from January 2019 to January 2022.