A California bankruptcy court Monday approved a motion by rerefiner Evergreen Oil and parent Evergreen Environmental Holdings to establish procedures to sell their assets, as part of their recent Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings. Evergreen Oil, along with parent and sole shareholder Evergreen Environmental Holdings, filed for Chapter 11 on April 9. A key factor cited was the cash flow impact from a March 2011 fire at its rerefinery in Newark, Calif. In a court document, Evergreen said several par...

Led by strong growth in Asia, global demand for general industrial oils is projected to grow from 6.5 million metric tons in 2011 to 7.2 million tons by 2016, according to Kline and Co. Asia Pacific, with 2.7 million tons demand in 2011, is the worlds leading producer of general industrial oils, largely in part to what Kline calls a massive shift of key manufacturing industries to the region from Europe and North America, the other top regions, said Upshi Gosh, project lead for Klines Energy Pr...

Transformer oil rerefiner Hydrodec is partnering with transformer recovery firm G&S Technologies Group to grow Hydrodecs North American business, including expansion of its rerefinery in Ohio. Expected to be completed by the end of April, the partnership will create a new entity, Hydrodec of North America LLC. The agreement will over a period of time see G&S Technologies take 49.9 percent of Hydrodec in North America, but initially 25 percent, with a view to building out the Canton fa...

Gulf Oil Argentinas 6,000 metric tons per year lubricants blending plant in Le Reja, Argentina, last week reached full production capacity for the first time since opening last year. The plant, which had its official opening on Friday, was built on a 20,000-square-meter plot approximately 24 miles outside of Buenos Aires. Gulf said the location offers a logistic competitive edge, as its position on the Acceso Oeste highway provides direct routes to the other four member countries of the Mercosu...

Gazprom Neft Lubricants added a new product line designed for Russia’s Far East region and Central Asia, and expanded its presence in Mongolia and Serbia. Gazprom Neft Lubricants is Russian oil major Gazprom Nefts lube arm. The company said its priority is to expand in the markets of Central Asia. In the last few years, Kazakhstan, the second biggest ex-Soviet republic after Russia, became Gazprom Nefts traditional market in Central Asia. The company holds 45 percent of the countrys lubri...

Clean Harbors promoted Executive Vice President of Environmental Sales Jerry Correll to president of Safety-Kleen Environmental Services, replacing Robert Craycraft, who resigned. Shell said it is considering sale of its retail, aviation, and supply and distribution downstream businesses in Italy, but not its non-service station lubricants and marine businesses there. Greenville Colorants of Jersey City, N.J., and Greenville, S.C., will distribute ProOnes industrial lubricants nationwide.

It has been a rather slow week in all the main markets. Nothing much has happened in the U.S. or Europe, and even Asia has been more dull than usual. U.S. Gulf of Mexico Rates have remained static across the main trade lanes out of the U.S. U.S. Gulf to Far East showed some potential earlier on, with enquiries of styrene, mixed xylenes, ethylene dichloride, ethanol and even a small base oils requirement, but owners with April vessels have been struggling to fill the last remaining tanks, sugges...