Volume 10 Issue 52

Builder Sues Universal

J.V. Industrial sued Universal Lubricants and its mortgage holder for $1.9 million allegedly still owed for building Universals rerefinery last year in Wichita, Kan. J.V. seeks to foreclose and sell the property. Universal called the lawsuit improper, contending it had to fix defects at the facility at significant cost because J.V. Industrials work didnt meet the requirements of their agreement. Filed Dec. 14 in the District Court of Sedgewick County, Kan., the lawsuit names New York-based Ares...

San Joaquin Unscathed by Truck Fire

A fire Thursday morning involving a tanker truck and a flatbed truck at San Joaquin Refinings Bakersfield, Calif., refinery resulted in explosions, but 40 firefighters extinguished it and successfully protected nearby oil tanks. San Joaquins refinery has about 8,100 barrels per day of naphthenic base oil capacity. The fire originated in one of the trucks, Kern County Fire Department spokesman Sean Collins told Lube Report. The tanker truck which was involved in the fire did disintegrate with e...

Group II Star Is Rising

JERSEY CITY, N.J. – API Group II base oils may only be the new Group I in North America, said Chevrons Brent Lok, but new heavy-duty motor oil specifications are demanding Group II worldwide. Historically, specifications were driven by the in-region supply of base oils, but new specifications and new sources of supply are challenging this solution, Lok, Chevrons manager of base oil marketing and new business development, told the ICIS Pan-American Base Oils & Lubricants Conference he...

Oxea Invests in Fatty Acids

Oxea has completed the first phase of a three-stage capacity increase at its carboxylic acid production units in Oberhausen, Germany, adding five percent to its global capacity. Total capacity was not disclosed. Upon the entire projects completion, scheduled for the end of 2011, Oxea will have boosted its global capacity by 20 percent. With our capacity increase we are responding to the growing demand for synthetic fatty acids, in particular in segments such as energy-efficient lubricant ester...

Krahn Sells Ergon Pale Oils

Germanys KrahnChemie is marketing Ergon Hygold naphthenic base oils throughout Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The pale oils are supplied from Ergon Europe MEAs tank storage in Antwerp, Belgium. Ergon Europe MEA is an operating division of Ergon Refining. It supplies process, base, and electrical oils produced at the companys Vicksburg, Miss., naphthenic base oil refinery, which has capacity of about 19,000 barrels per day. Krahn Chemies ties to the lubricants industry and its technical expe...

Oil Leak, Dipstick Drive Recalls

A loose oil pipe bolt led to a recall of diesel trucks by Isuzu Motors, while a defective oil filler plug/dipstick resulted in a motorcycle recall by Triumph. Isuzu is recalling 2,992 model year 2006 and 2007 Isuzu, GMC and Chevrolet diesel trucks in the United States equipped with 4H series engines, which were manufactured at Isuzus Fujisawa plant in Japan. Due to insufficient torque applied during the installation of the oil pipe bolt, engine lubrication oil may seep or leak from the packing...