NexLube Tampa LLC has completed the permit process and plans to begin construction of a rerefinery and blending plant in Tampa, Fla., in 2012, with opening expected in 2013. An independent start-up, NexLube opened in February 2010. In June 2010, the Tampa Port Authority approved a 20-year lease option agreement with NexLube for a 12-acre, $75 million rerefinery and blending plant project. The facility is expected to process 24 million gallons of used oil annually. The rerefinery would produce ...

Total has agreed to establish a chain of quick lube centers in Europe in cooperation with Finnish tire retailer Vianor. Total officials said the company partnered with Vianor because it has a similar strategy. Both companies are in a fast expanding phase in the region and are as such complementary to each other in developing the oil change business together in the area, Jean Louis Bonenfant, Total Refining and Marketings vice president of the Northern Europe Central Oriental & CEI region. ...

Walmart named Shell its Supplier of the Year for Sustainability for its Ecobox lubricant packaging system, which reduced plastic and oil in the waste stream at Walmarts nearly 2,500 Tire & Lube Express locations. The Ecobox bag-in-box system, supplied by Scholle Packaging, holds 24 quarts of oil in a flexible plastic liner encased in acardboard box. It is designed to simplify transport and storage, leave less residual oil in the container, minimize spills and reduce waste. According to Shel...

Ashland will acquire specialty chemical manufacturer International Specialty Products for $3.2 billion cash, expanding Ashlands position in high-growth markets such as personal care and pharmaceutical. The transaction is expected to close prior to the end of the quarter ending in September, which is the fourth quarter of Ashlands fiscal year. This defining transaction enables us to significantly expand our market positions in higher margin, higher growth and less cyclical global markets like p...

Fire briefly interrupted production at Gazprom Nefts Omsk base oil refinery on May 26, according to the Russian emergency ministry. Omsk emergency firefighters were notified about the fire at 12:38 p.m. last Thursday. Upon arrival at the plant, the fire brigade was directed to the refinerys lubricants production facilities. Our brigade learned that a one-floor building, [housing] the heater for the plants deasphalting unit, caught fire, the ministry press department said. No injuries were repo...

The U.S. Gulf is saddled with a lot of open space keeping freights soft. Europe had another quiet week, as did Asia. U.S. Gulf of Mexico It is very apparent that cargo volumes from the U.S. Gulf have declined as many of the ships that were open last week are still open this week. The flooding of the Mississippi and the restrictions imposed on traffic, both sea and river-going, are probably the main causes and have implications on traffic through ports other than New Orleans. U.S. Gulf-to-Cari...