Volume 10 Issue 43

GM Lobs Volley at ILSAC/Oil

ILSAC GF-5 will probably be the last ILSAC specification, a General Motors officials presentation declared at the recent ICIS Middle Eastern Base Oils & Lubricants Conference in Dubai. The presentation, by Eric R. Johnson of GMs Powertrain, Fuels and Lubricants group, noted that ILSAC GF-5, the new passenger car engine oil category which entered commercial service this month, took nearly six years to complete, yet only required development of one new engine test (the ASTM Sequence VID test ...

China Now Tops in Lube Demand?

China surpassed the United States in 2009 to become the top lubricant-consuming country, at least according to estimates by one industry insider. Fuchs Petrolub AG calculates Chinas lubricants demand last year at 5.58 million metric tons, the companys head of global strategic marketing, Apu Gosalia, said last week during a keynote speech at the annual congress of the Independent Union of the European Lubricants Industry (UEIL). The United States, he said, had demand of 5.48 million tons. Its a ...

Post-Pearl, Every Oils a Specialty

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – With the introduction of gas-to-liquid base oils from the Shell-Qatar Petroleum Pearl project, the global base oil refining industry will shift to a new commercial model. Rather than selling into every sector, one expert predicts, refiners will increasingly specialize to take advantage of their processing strengths. At the ICIS Middle East Base Oils & Lubricants Conference here on Oct. 12, Amy Claxton, principal of Hummelstown, Pa.-based consultancy My E...

SK, Quaker Income Up, Valvoline Down

Ashlands Valvoline division reported higher sales but a drop in operating income for the quarter ending Sept. 30, while SK Lubricants and Quaker Chemical reported rises in operating income and sales, compared to year-earlier numbers. Valvoline According to parent company Ashland, Valvoline posted operating income of $52 million for the three months ending Sept. 30 (the fourth quarter of Ashlands fiscal year), down 27.8 percent from $72 million in the same period a year earlier. Valvolines sales...

IPAC Adds Tech and Research Center

IPAC has opened a technology and research center in Midlothian, Va., that will boost its abilities to analyze lubricant additive performance and create components through organic synthesis. International Petroleum Products and Additives Co. Inc. is a lubricant and fuel additive and component manufacturing and sales company based in Dublin, Calif. It has manufacturing capabilities in Illinois, Louisiana, Texas and California. Weve got a lot of analytical capabilities we didnt have before, so we...

Recalls Focus on Brake-fluid Polymer

Toyota will recall more than 1.3 million vehicles globally in November, and Honda will recall 471,820 vehicles in the United States because a brake master cylinder leak could occur when using replacement brake fluid that lacks a key lubricating polymer. In the United States, Toyota will recall 740,000 model year 2005 through 2006 Avalon, 2004 through 2006 Highlander (non hybrid) and Lexus RX330, and several 2006 Lexus model vehicles. In Japan, the recall will include nearly 600,000 vehicles, in...

SSY Base Oil Shipping Report

The U.S. Gulf is going through an exciting phase with good demand in most directions. Europe is doing the opposite and demand is falling in most directions. Asia is running well through a healthy combination of chemicals and palm oil. U.S. Gulf Low commodity prices helped by cheap natural gas costs and a favorable exchange rate have given U.S. producers the edge in terms of product marketability. Greatest demand is being seen from Asia, with many traders quoting benzene/toluene/xylene, styrene,...