Volume 12 Issue 11

SSY Base Oil Shipping Report

U.S. markets are heating up again, and space looks tight on all routes for the balance of March. European coastal markets remain busy, but deep-sea trades are unexciting. Asian domestic trades are fairly busy whereas deep-sea markets are soft. U.S. Gulf of Mexico It has been another busy week in the U.S. Gulf-to-Caribbean market. Space is restricted to just a handful of vessels for the rest of March, but this tightness is somewhat artificial since it has its origins in lengthy port delays in t...

U.S. Base Oil Output Grew 3%

Despite a plague of refinery outages and a year-end slowdown, U.S. refiners turned out almost 62 million barrels of base oil last year. That’s a 3 percent gain over 2010, shows recent data from the federal Energy Information Administration. Total output lagged the 2006 peak of 67 million barrels, but sources said strong margins and buoyant demand kept refiners flush with success – as long as they could keep their units running. Paraffinic base oil accounted for 50.6 million barrels...

Enoc Launches UAE Plant

Emirates National Oil Co. inaugurated its 105,000 metric tons per year lubricants and grease plant on Monday in Fujairah Port in the United Arab Emirates. The plant can blend 100,000 t/y of mineral oil-based and synthetic lubricants, and 5,000 t/y of grease, according to a company statement. Enoc said upcoming expansion in three phases through 2014 will raise the plants capacity to more than 250,000 t/y of lubricants and grease, underlining its credentials as one of the largest single lubricant...

Fuchs to Relocate Lubrodal

Fuchs Lubricants will move its Lubrodal forging lubricants division from Pennsylvania to the companys corporate headquarters in Illinois in 2013 to have more room to grow. The move provides an opportunity for future capacity expansion and the building of a state of the art facility, Mark Howe, a Fuchs Lubricants vice president, told Lube Report. Howe explained there is not yet a hard closure date for the Pennsylvania plant because the new facility for Lubrodal in Illinois is expected to take ...

Lube Demand Soars for Wind Power

Kline & Co. projects 16 percent annual growth in lubricant consumption in the global wind turbine industry over the next five years, although economic and other challenges may temper growth. The findings were released during a March 6 web seminar based on a new Kline report, Lubricants for Wind Turbines 2011: Global Market Analysis and Opportunities. Milind Phadke, a director in Klines energy practice, said that although the wind turbine lubricants market is small – about 20,000 ton...

Heckmann Gets Thermo Fluids

Heckmann Corp. will acquire used motor oil collector Thermo Fluids Inc. from private equity firm CIVC Partners for $245 million in cash and stock shares. The acquisition is expected to close early in the second quarter, subject to closing conditions. Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Thermo Fluids has operations throughout the western United States, with facilities and customers in 18 states. The company has 31 facilities, 290 trucks, more than 190 rail cars and more than 230 employees. Thermo Fluids ...

Rosneft, Avtovaz Team Up on Lubes

Rosneft and Russian automaker Avtovaz signed a fuels and lubricants procurement contract that could lead to development of new lubricants in Russia. Financial terms were not disclosed. The agreement envisages long-term cooperation in supply of motor oils, petrol and diesel fuel, as well as development of new lubricants, state-owned oil major Rosneft said. Rosneft President Eduard Khudainatov and Avtovaz President Igor Komarov signed the deal. Rosneft and Avtovaz are joining forces to develop b...

Quaker Sales, Income Up

Lubricant supplier Quaker Chemical posted substantial increases in net income for 2011s fourth quarter and the full year, compared to results in the year-earlier period and 2010. Conshohocken, Pa.-based Quaker Chemical reported $9.8 million in net income for 2011s fourth quarter, up 42 percent from $6.9 million in the year-earlier period. For the full year 2011, the companys net income reached $43.6 million, up 36.7 percent from $31.9 million for 2010. The companys net sales totaled $173.3 mil...