Indian conglomerate Essar Energy has offered $350 million to buy Shells refinery in Stanlow, United Kingdom, including its API Group I base oil plant. The acquisition is expected to be completed during the second half of 2011. Under the agreements terms, payment for the refinery will be made in two stages, with $175 million payable on completion of the acquisition, and a deferred payment of $175 million plus interest payable on the date of the first anniversary of the acquisitions completion. T...

Aiming to lift more of its sales into premium territory, ExxonMobil has tidied away its “Mobil Clean” motor oils and is replacing them with a new family of products. The revamped lineup omits a synthetic blend and instead offers a full synthetic, one step behind best-seller Mobil 1. The new products, sold under the Mobil Super label, began appearing in some U.S. outlets in January and should be available nationwide next month. There are three offerings, all backed with a guarantee o...

Calumet Specialty Products Partners reported $9.5 million in net income for the quarter ending Dec. 31, up almost 16 percent from $8.2 million in 2009s fourth quarter. The company attributed the improvement primarily to an increase of $20.7 million in gross profit, partially offset by higher transportation expense of $3.8 million due to increased sales volume. Our specialty products production levels and gross profit significantly improved in the third and fourth quarters of 2010, with our spec...

Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS), a subsidiary of Russian oil giant Gazprom Neft, has started to produce raffinate at its refinery in Novi Sad, Serbia. The modernization of our refinery complex and the implementation of new management standards are underway, companys press service told Lube Report last week. The company declined to estimate when the project is expected to reach full capacity, saying it was too early in the project. According to the plan, raffinate output of the plant in Novi Sad ...

International Petroleum Investment Co. launched a public takeover bid for all of Cepsas share capital, including Totals 49 percent stake, in a 4 billion (U.S. $5.5 billion) deal. IPIC already has a 47 percent share in the Spanish refiner and lubricants marketer. Other smaller shareholders account for about 4 percent, which will also be acquired by IPIC. The transaction is subject to government approvals. IPIC will offer 28 (U.S. $38) per Cepsa share, and a dividend of .50 per share will go to ...

The U.S. Gulf of Mexico remains tight on prompt space in most directions, although demand has flattened. Europe looks much quieter this week. Asia continues to be very active with plenty of export opportunities and a lively domestic market. U.S. Gulf of Mexico In some ways it has been a quiet week out of the United States. However, as anyone who has a prompt cargo to ship can testify, owners continue to be very bullish on the small bits of space remaining this month. Looking into March, however,...