The Americas market is becoming frustrated by the lack of available December tonnage. Europe is active on the majority of routes. Asia is reasonably busy but gaps can still be found this month. U.S. Gulf The hottest route out of the Americas is the U.S. Gulf to Asia trade lane, but there has been relatively little fixing because there is simply not enough space remaining on berth. If anything, it is easier to find space for 2,000 ton parcels than 5,000 ton parcels or larger. Rates currently sta...

Global lubricant demand will grow at less than 2 percent per year to reach 42.1 million metric tons by 2017, consultancy Kline and Co. projected, from 38.7 million tons in 2012.George Morvey, industry manager for Klines Energy Practice, said during a recent webinar that Shell remained the global market share leader at 12 percent, followed by ExxonMobil at 10 percent, BP with 7 percent, and Chevron and Total at 5 percent each. The rest of the top 10 included PetroChina at 4 percent, Sinopec with ...

JERSEY CITY, N.J. – Mexico today relies on imported base oils to meet its growing appetite for lubes, but with Pemexs planned API Group II expansion, targeting 9,300 barrels per day by 2018, the national oil company hopes to regain its home market.Juan Carlos Jimenez, base oil specialist with Pemex Refinacion, described Mexicos base oil market and Petroleos Mexicanos future base oil plans at the ICIS Pan-American Base Oils & Lubricants Conference here Dec. 6.Although there is an overa...

Russian authorities went ahead with plans to move a Moscow-based specialty lubricants plant, despite protests by industry sources and marketers that it could harm some industrial sectors and hike specialty prices.State-owned Moscow Neftemaslozavod (MNMZ) is excluded from the proposed federal properties privatization agenda planned for 2014-2016, according to a Dec. 9 government decree published on the Russian governments website.The decree states that in correspondence with the Russian president...

Fast-growing East Africa is attracting huge international interest, and its lubricant industry is keeping pace, with multiple new blending plants planned. East Africa is more politically stable than many other parts of the continent, and its economic growth is likely to be sustained, according to a presentation prepared for Octobers ICIS Middle East Base Oils & Lubricants Conference in Dubai. Authors Joseph Ndungu and James Wakiru of consultancy Lubes Africa, based in Nairobi, Kenya, wrote...

ExxonMobil Aviationheld a ground breaking ceremony in Port Allen, La., for its blending and packaging center for synthetic aviation lubricants, set to begin operating by early 2015.Oxeawill raise prices on NPG and TMP, used in synthetic lubricants, by 5cents per pound in North America, $100 per metric ton in Latin America and Asia and 100/t in Europe, effective Jan. 1, 2014.