PetroChoice acquired lubricants distributor Craft Oil, continuing its expansion in the Mid-Atlantic region. Terms were not disclosed. Craft Oil distributes lubricants, equipment and a wide range of related services to the commercial, automotive, industrial and aviation markets. Key lubricant brands represented include ExxonMobil, Shell, Pennzoil, Quaker State, Service Pro, Cam2 and Wynns. The acquisition of Craft will give PetroChoice the capability and infrastructure to fulfill the specialize...

Total and OiLibya opened a joint venture lubricant blending and storage facility in Egypt this month. Both companies said they expect the project to help expand their sales in the North African country. The project is located on a 34,000-square-meter site in Borg El Arab, Egypt, near Alexandria, and operates under the name Oil Products Storage and Blending Alexandria, in which Total and OiLibya own 65 percent and 35 percent stakes, respectively. The blending plant has capacity to produce 40,000...

LISBON, Portugal-More and more major oil companies are realigning their business activity, choosing to concentrate on big volume business and retract from niche markets such as lubricants, an industry expert told delegates at the 2012 UEIL Congress last month. At the same time, according to Apu Gosalia, head of global strategic marketing and chief sustainability officer at Fuchs Petrolub Group, companies such as Cosan or Calumet will stand ready to acquire segments large companies such as Exxon...

After an investigation of nearly four months, Japanese petroleum giant JX Nippon has decided to reopen both refineries at its Mizushima plant in Okayama prefecture. Hiroji Adachi, the plants executive officer, said last week that JX had resumed production at Mizushima B on Nov. 28 after provincial authorities checked the refinerys safety regulations. Adachi apologized for the safety flaws and remarked that JX remains committed to safety as a priority. Reopening both refineries, which have the...

Ergon plans to invest $78 million to expand its Newell, W.Va., subsidiary refinery to process growing regional crude oil production from the Marcellus and Utica shale areas. The expansion is also expected to enable a modest boost in specialty oil production from the sites paraffinic base oil plant. According to a company statement, the expansion will add capacity in the Newell refinery processing units and supporting infrastructure. The Marcellus and Utica shale is located in West Virginia, Ohi...

Polish lubes marketer Lotos Oil announced Monday that it had expanded its supply in Azerbaijan, its second Caucasus market after recently establishing a foothold in Georgia. The company recently signed an agreement with its partners to supply motor oils to KIA Motors official dealers service stations in Azerbaijan. At the moment we supply about 1,000 tons of [finished] lubricants annually in Azerbaijan and account for around 10 percent of the market, the figures are growing every year, Cezary K...

U.S. markets are mostly flat, apart from the route into Asia that has at last come alive. Europe is still too quiet for the time of year, while Asian markets are doing well with plenty of cargoes obtainable. U.S. Gulf of Mexico Things have been coming together on the U.S. Gulf to Far East run, and while freight levels have not surged as owners were hoping, the amount of open space in December is steadily diminishing. If demand continues at this pace, and there are a number of cargoes out there ...