Holly said it raised its Group I paraffinic grades on Tuesday, Feb. 22, adding 40 cents/gal on all grades, except 250 vis went up by 45 cents/gal.

FHR told customers that it lifted its Group II 70 and 75 neutrals by 37 cents/gal; 100 by 43 cents/gal; 230 vis by 45 cents/gal; and 600 vis by 35 cents/gal, also effective Tuesday, Feb. 22.

Calumet pushed up its Group I and Group II posted prices, effective today, Feb. 23. The company raised its Group I 700 vis and bright stock by 30 cents/gal. Its Group II 80 vis moved higher by 35 cents/gal, while 100 and 150 vis shot up by 40 cents/gal, and 325 vis was raised 45 cents/gal.

ConocoPhillips plans to raise its Group II paraffinic grades between 33 and 44 cents/gal on Thursday, Feb.24. Posted prices for neutrals 70 and 80 will go up 37 cents/gal, 110 vis will climb by 43 cents/gal, 225 vis will gain 44 cents/gal and 600 will be hoisted 33 cents/gal. The company also confirmed that Ultra-S Group II+ posted prices are moving up by 47 cents/gal. Group III 4 cSt is going up by 62 cents/gal and 8 cSt will advance by 61 cents/gal. ConocoPhillips markets S-Oils base stocks in North America.

Direct buyers said that ExxonMobil also plans to raise its Group I American Core grades on Friday, Feb. 25. According to customers, ExxonMobil will boost Group I 100 and 150 by 43 cents/gal; 330 vis will go up by 40 cents/gal; 600 vis will increase by 30 cents/gal; while bright stock will shift higher by 40 cents/gal. Details for the companys Group II+ EHC 45 (110 vis) and EHC 60 (190 vis) could not be confirmed.

Paulsboro Refining Co. (PRC) alerted its buyers of planned posted price hikes coming Wednesday, March 2. The company will up its 100 and 165 neutrals by 43 cents/gal, its 500 and 700 vis by 30 cents/gal, and bright stock by 40 cents/gal.

Chevron and SK have yet to follow these moves, but sources close to the companies indicate that they are bracing for news of higher prices to emerge from these two as well.

In upstream news, crude oil prices surged to new highs this week, rising beyond the $94/barrel level during intra-day trade on Tuesday on the heated political situation in Libya. Brent crude approached the $110 per barrel level.

According to unnamed sources, Libya declared force majeure on all oil exports. Force majeure allows producers to miss contractual obligations because of circumstances beyond their control.

In a statement released its website on Tuesday, the Paris-based International Energy Agency said that the IEA stands ready, as always, to make oil available to the market in the event of a major supply disruption if alternative supplies cannot be made available via normal market mechanisms.

Anti-government riots that began in Tunisia in January also have spread through Egypt, Yemen, Algeria, Iran, Bahrain and Morocco. Countries in North Africa and the Middle East were responsible for 36 percent of global oil output and held 61 percent of proved reserves in 2009, according to BP Plc, which publishes its Statistical Review of World Energy each June.

Brent may trade between $105 and $110 per barrel in coming weeks if unrest in Libya prevails, and may surge to record highs if this heated situation spreads to other Middle Eastern oil producers such as Saudi Arabia, according to energy industry experts. This would undoubtedly hoist domestic crude prices such as benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) to fresh highs as well.

At the close of the Tuesday, Feb. 22, NYMEX session, front-month light sweet crude futures ended the day at $93.57 per barrel, a whopping gain of $9.25/bbl compared to the Feb. 15 close at $84.32.

Historic U.S. posted base oil prices and WTI and Brent crude spot prices are available for purchase in Excel format.