The Petroleum Quality Institute of America warned consumers last week not to buy Bullet brand motor oil based on its potential to damage engines, leading its distributor RelaDyne to issue a recall. PQIA, a consumer advocacy organization based in New Jersey, tests and reports on the quality of lubricants in the U.S. market. Its analysis of several bottles of Bullet Premium Motor Oil 5W-30 – purchased March 13 at a convenience store in Columbus, Ohio – revealed a viscosity that fell n...

The European Commission launched an in-depth investigation into Nynas proposed acquisition of Shells Harburg, Germany, refinery assets over concern the acquisition would eliminate naphthenic base oils competition in Europe. Under the deal, announced in Dec. 2011, Swedish specialty oils refiner Nynas would take out a 25-year lease on Shell Deutschlands naphthenic and paraffinic base oil plant in Harburg. The plant has 3,000 barrels per day of naphthenic capacity and 3,300 b/d of API Group I para...

BP Lubricants USA last week informed U.S. customers that prices for Castrol finished lubricants will generally increase by up to 4 percent effective May 6. Although the March 29 letter to customers gave no specific reasons for the increase, it did note that due to market constraints with some base oils, Castrol reserves the right to limit purchases of select products on a sku basis. BP indicated in the letter that price changes for certain products may fall outside the general percentage amoun...

Transformer oil rerefiner Hydrodec plans to develop a pilot plant later this year focused on rerefining used paraffinic base stocks and potentially producing API Group II and III base oils. Hydrodec collects used transformer oil and manufactures, markets and distributes transformer oil and naphthenic base oil at its facilities in Australia and in the United States in Ohio, with plans to expand to more facilities in Japan. The company has corporate offices in London. In December, Hydrodec annou...

Oil changes drive traffic through U.S. service bays and offer the best opportunity to cross-sell other services, according to market research company NPD Groups consumer tracking research. NPD found tire rotations, air filter replacements and car washes among the top services purchased at the same time as an oil change. With consumers driving less and softer demand for automotive maintenance and repair, automotive service outlets need to maximize each service occasion, said David Portalatin, NP...

Chinese Geely cars assembled in Russia will use Lukoils transmission oils for factory fill, the Russian oil major said last week. Derways, the company that manufactures the cars, operates an assembly plant in Karachaevo-Cherkessia, a republic in the North Caucasus. For automatic transmissions, Lukoil will provide the Lukoil ATF brand, an all-season low-viscosity product that the company says has good antifriction properties and improved anti-oxidation. The oil is intended for use in automatic t...