JERSEY CITY, N.J. – Global lubricant demand will be flat through 2013, with only moderate growth in following years, Steve Ames predicted, based on lubes strong but lagging link to global GDP. With new capacity expected, over 9 million tons per year of older base oil capacity should close by 2016. Stephen Ames, managing director of SBA Consulting, unveiled a critical review of global lubricant demand and base oil supply at the ICIS Pan-American Base Oils & Lubricants Conference here ...

G.H. Berlin Oil and Windward executive Stephen Eldred acquired distributor Windward Petroleum, bringing together several major lubricants brands under one roof. Terms were not disclosed. Eldred, who had served as Windwards vice president and chief financial officer, is now president and CEO of Windward. Founded in 1998, Manchester, N.H.-based Windward has about 165 employees. The acquisition was completed on Nov. 22. David Waltz, president of East Hartford, Conn.-based Booth Waltz Enterprises,...

NPD Groups latest Aftermarket Outlook Survey found that 51 percent of vehicle owners believed engine oil should be changed every 3,000 miles or three months, down from 59 percent in 2007. Its a gradual shift, so its not as if theres been a dramatic change overnight, David Portalatin, NPDs auto aftermarket industry analyst, told Lube Report. But what we see is consistent change over a fairly long period of time. So its an undeniable trend away from that standard. He pointed out that the percent...

H eritage-Crystal Clean acquired the used oil collection business of Crystal Flash Ltd. Partnership of Michigan, adding supply for its API Group II 2,000 barrels per day rerefinery, expected to stream around year end. Terms were not disclosed. Heritage expects the acquisition to add used oil collection volume of about 3.5 million gallons per year, primarily in Michigan. Heritage anticipates the acquisition will add 20 employees. We expect this acquisition to add approximately $6 [million] to $...

One natural gas partnership between Shell and Qatar Petroleum has started bringing gas-to-liquids base stocks to the lubricants industry. Another could bring chemical building blocks used to make polyalphaolefins. On Sunday the companies signed a heads of agreement document setting out the scope and commercial principles of a joint venture petrochemicals complex in Ras Laffan Industrial City, Qatar. The project would use natural gas from a Qatar field to produce 300,000 metric tons per year of ...

Rates continue to increase in the U.S. Gulf because of high demand and limited space. Europe is sedate in comparison. Asia has plentiful tonnage supply, and demand seems to be slackening. U.S. Gulf of Mexico Rates have shot up again across the major U.S. trade lanes, adding a further $3 to $5/t to the cost of freight. The route out to Asia is the most active and is gobbling up whatever tonnage is around. Even small 13,000 tonners that normally trade in the Caribbean have been enticed with fre...