After being hammered by Western sanctions in 2022, Russian base oil exports have continued to fall this year as sanctions were tightened and global demand weakened, industry sources and analysts told Lube Report. Russian refiners have managed to ramp up exports to destinations such as Central Asia and the Southern Caucasus in the past two years, but those increases were far offset by decreased shipments to Europe.

Energy company Petrol Ofisi announced recently that it is expanding its lubricant blending plant in Kocaeli, Turkey, increasing production capacity from 150,000 metric tons per year to 230,000 t/y. The company, which is headquartered in Istanbul, said the enlarged facility will be capable of meeting half of Turkey’s domestic demand, although some of its output will be exported to other markets.

The European Union Parliament this month adopted its negotiation position on Euro 7, the revamping of EU rules for type-approval and market surveillance of motor vehicles. Among other things, the new regulation will update current limits for exhaust emissions – such as nitrogen oxides, particular matter, carbon monoxide and ammonia.