Chevron yesterday outlined plans to whittle its downstream business, including eliminating 2,000 jobs this year and soliciting bids for some of its European operations. The company has not disclosed specific information on how lubricant operations will be impacted. The cuts represent about 12 percent of Chevrons 16,900 downstream employees globally. The company expects staff reductions to occur through 2011. Chevron has announced its intention to solicit bids for some of its operations in Eur...

Refiners in the United States cranked out just under 30 million barrels of paraffinic and naphthenic base oils in the second half of 2009, according to refinery production data from the Energy Information Administration, part of the U.S. Department of Energy. That’s a marked improvement over the 25 million barrels produced in the year’s first half, but still the weakest showing since the early 1990s. More commonly, volumes have reached 32 million to 34 million barrels in the second s...

Afton Chemical has acquired metalworking fluid additives supplier Polartech, including manufacturing sites in the key markets of India and China. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The agreement includes all of Polartechs physical assets, including its headquarters, research and development, and manufacturing facilities in the United Kingdom, as well as manufacturing sites in India, China and the United States. Afton, headquartered in Richmond, Va., will take on 130 full-tim...

LONDON – API Group I base oil supply in Western Europe is ripe for further contraction, but if a Group I plant can survive the next five years, it should see a modest upturn in demand after 2013, Kline & Co. predicts. Certainly the best European Group I plants can and will survive, Geeta Agashe, energy vice president at Kline & Co., told the ICIS World Base Oils & Lubricants Conference here on Feb. 18. But high-cost Group I plants are really facing the squeeze. There are st...

Strong steel industry demand in key countries boosted Quaker Chemicals net income in 2009s fourth quarter, while reduced refinery gross margins depressed refiner Hollys net income, compared to the year-ago quarter. Quaker Chemical posted $8.4 million net income in 2009s fourth quarter, compared to a $2.7 million loss in 2008. The companys net sales reached $131.7 million in 2009s fourth quarter, up almost 13 percent from the year-ago quarter. For the full year 2009, net sales added up to $451....

Cognis raised prices on its Synative line of synthetic lubricant components, and Oxea boosted prices for a variety of carboxylic acids used in production of lubricants. Dusseldorf, Germany-based Cognis Corp. upped prices 13 percent for its Synative line effective April 1, or as provided by individual contracts. The Synative product range includes fatty alcohols, several types of esters, emulsifiers and additives. Key application areas include metalworking fluids, rolling oils, environmentally ac...

There is still a lot of cargo being generated globally, but rather alarmingly there is not that much so far that requires April shipment. It may be due to new pricing for the second quarter, for which discussions will only commence at the end of March at the NPRA petrochemical conference in San Antonio, Texas. The dates are uncomfortably close to the Easter holidays too. U.S. Gulf of Mexico The situation in the U.S. Gulf is much the same as before. Prompt space is very scarce, especially on shi...