The American Petroleum Institute sued seven companies and individuals associated with blender and distributor Tailor Made Oil of Indiana, alleging trademark counterfeiting and infringement, trademark dilution, false advertising, forgery and breach of contract. Filed Oct. 14 in the Federal District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, the lawsuit names Tailor Made Oil Co. LLC, TM Oil LLC, Circle Town Oil – three related companies in Indiana – and New York-based distributor Jaf...

North Carolina officials on Thursday announced a stop-sale order on 5W-30, 10W-30 and 10W-40 grades of City Star brand motor oils after they failed quality tests. Most of the City Star products produced test results similar to a 20-grade motor oil or less, with some falling into the diesel fuel range. You can shake the bottle, and it almost sounds like water, certainly not like motor oil, a N.C. official pointed out to Lube Report. Thats where the bulk of them were, and it didnt matter whether...

Russias first foreign-owned lubricants plant will open by the end of 2011, Shell confirmed to Lube Report last week. The Hague, Netherlands-based company started the Russian lubricants blending project in August 2009, stating it was a $100 million investment. Originally scheduled to be fully operational by the end of 2010, the plants opening has been pushed back a year to December 2011 due to construction delays, developmental issues and material supply delays, the company said. The plants con...

DUBAI, U.A.E. – Crude oil price expectations remain high, WTI prices will bounce back (sorry, HollyFrontier), and API Group I production costs will continue to set the base oil pricing floor, according to Purvin & Gertz. Blake Eskew, senior vice president with Purvin & Gertz in Houston, highlighted the impact of crude oil and other factors on base oil pricing, with a look ahead at how those factors might evolve, at the ICIS Middle Eastern Base Oils & Lubricants Conference h...

Rhein Chemies lubricant oil additive division will open a North American Technology Center in Pittsburgh by January 2012. The most appealing thing about Pittsburgh is the fact that it is already the home of Lanxess U.S. headquarters and there is already a state of the art infrastructure in place, Michael Assaf, Rhein Chemies director of lubricant oil additives for North America, told Lube Report. The center, which the company said will be a cornerstone in development of next generation lubric...

Additives maker Infineum International appointed Xavier le Mintier as chief executive officer, replacing Dominique Fournier, who will retire at the end of this year. The company plans to hold a short handover in December before Fourniers Dec. 31 retirement date. Le Mintier served as executive vice president for Shell Oil Products Africa since 2006. In the role, he had executive responsibility for the full Shell downstream operation in Africa, covering retail, commercial, supply and distributio...

Lukoil and GAZ, one of Russias biggest automakers, signed a lubes and chemicals procurement contract last week. The deal was signed by Lukoil president Vagit Alekperov, and GAZ Group president Bo Andersson. Financial terms were not disclosed. Lukoil will supply GAZ with engine oils for factory fill, fuels, liquids and other petrochemical products during the next three years, beginning Oct. 1, the oil major said. During the production process and development of new types of vehicles, GAZ will b...

The Americas market is looking a little softer on some trade lanes. Asia has recovered quickly from the holidays, and local demand has improved. Europe is busy, especially to Asia and the Indian Ocean. U.S. Gulf of Mexico Things went quiet on some of the regional trades in the Americas. Gulf-to-the-Caribbean for instance saw less activity, while routes to the east coast of South America only produced a handful of spot requirements, including some base oils, phenol and ethanol. Contractual volum...