Freight rates have deteriorated on most European routes. Asia is almost balanced, while the U.S. has registered both increases and decreases, depending on trade lane. U.S. Gulf of Mexico Slight increases in freight have been reported on U.S. Gulf to Caribbean routes and from the U.S. Gulf to the east coast of South America in response to an improvement in demand. It has also become apparent that the pool of open vessels in the U.S. Gulf has diminished, and there are fewer vessels able to slip o...

Malaysian lube manufacturer Hyrax Oil plans to construct a blending plant in Mozambique by the end of this year, in partnership with that countrys state-owned Petroleos De Mocambique (Petromoc), according to a report Friday by Bernama, Malaysias state-run news agency. Speaking at the two companies recent signing ceremony, Hyrax Managing Director Datuk Hazimah Zainuddin said that the two parties will register a company under the name of Petromoc-Hyrax Oil International Ltd. Hazimah Zainuddin es...

Rosnefts Novokuibyshevsk oils and additives plant recently started producing marine lubes under BPs Castrol brand for the Russian market. Under the agreement Rosneft signed with Baltic Petroleum in January, Rosneft, the worlds largest crude oil producer will use BPs key brand in the next two years and is expected to produce 2.6 million liters of marine lubricants annually. Its the first time the plant is producing customized lubricants for a leading global energy company, Rosneft said in its Ap...

Additives maker Infineum signed a lease agreement for a three-story building for its proposed new business and technology center in China, continuing its Asia-Pacific expansion. Located in Jinqiao, Shanghai, the new 4,500 square meter (nearly 50,000 sq. ft.) complex will include a laboratory and office space, and is due to open in early 2014, according to an April 24 news release. The primary objective will be to conduct technology work in support of local customers and to coordinate and suppor...

MUMBAI, India – India is now the worlds third-largest lubricant market, and its base oil producers are gearing up to provide the high quality oils needed for the latest fuel-efficient vehicles and sophisticated industrial applications. Sanjay Kumar, deputy general manager for retail lubes with Hindustan Petroleum Corp., told the first ICIS Indian Base Oils & Lubricants Conference here last week that we have an action plan for quality assurance and promise to meet quality. Hindustan ...

Ashlands Valvoline division and lubricant supplier Quaker Chemical each reported increased profits and decreased sales for the quarter ending March 31, compared to the year-earlier quarter. Meanwhile, profits dipped at NewMarkets Afton Chemical additives subsidiary and declined sharply at South Koreas SK Lubricants. Afton Chemical Afton Chemical turned a $102 million operating profit during 2013s first quarter, down 4.9 percent from $107.2 million in the year-earlier period. The petroleum addi...

Lonza will shut down its biocide plant in Swords, Ireland, in June as part of a corporate cost-cutting effort, the company announced Thursday in its first quarter business report. The company informed the Swords sites 32 employees and 11 contracted staff in March that the plant will be closed as part of Lonzas effort to streamline its global manufacturing footprint. The Swords site has experienced a low capacity utilization for some time with no foreseeable change to this trend, the company sta...

Universal Environmental Services (Avista Oil USA) said it will commission its rerefinery in Peachtree City, Ga., tomorrow, with base oil shipments beginning May 16. The new plant will initially produce 1,000 barrels per day of base oil using Avistas patented Enhanced Selective Refining (ESR) technology, Mike Reddick, vice president of sales and marketing, said in a statement. The rerefinery is expected to eventually produce 1,250 b/d at full capacity. Our proven start-up process is to run only...