While very little is happening in the U.S., most European markets have been active, along with Asian exports. Asian domestic markets have yet to really get into their stride. U.S. Gulf Spot volumes remain low on the U.S. Gulf-to-Far East routes. Usual cargoes of styrene and aromatics are elusive, and in some cases, U.S. prices are higher than those in Asia. Instead, there are some minor volumes of base oil, acrylonitrile, phenol, solvents and ethanol. There are ships that still have March space ...

U.S. refiners produced 59.8 million barrels of virgin base oils in 2013, chalking up a 3.9 percent improvement over 2012, according to recent data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Paraffinic base oil output rose 5 percent in 2013 to reach 49.5 million barrels, compared to 47.2 million barrels in 2012. The country’s naphthenic base oil producers supplied 10.3 million barrels, essentially matching their 2012 volume. All told, the 2013 scorecard showed a gain of 2.3 million ba...

VeroLube – based in Alberta, Canada, and Houston, Texas – announced Monday that it will acquire Scottsdale, Arizona-based used oil collector Thermo Fluids Inc. for around $175 million. VeroLube also unveiled plans to build up to four facilities in North America by early- to mid-2015, including at least three rerefineries. The deal, consisting of $165 million in cash and $10 million in VeroLube common stock, is expected to close in the second quarter of this year. Thermo Fluids parent...

Nynas sees a potential 1.4 million ton naphthenic base oil shortfall by 2016 and plans to help meet it, adding 350,000 tons per year of capacity in Harburg, Germany, by 2016. Speaking at the ICIS World Base Oils & Lubricants Conference here on Feb. 21, Nynas Marketing Director Valentina Serra-Holm said the potential naphthenic market in 2013 – applications where naphthenics are superior – came to 5 million tons but total supply was just 3.7 million tons. The global naphthenic mar...

The state of Oregon issued $30,400 in fines to a quick lube and a plumber for intentionally discharging an oily mixture into a creek in late 2012. Both parties were found guilty of related misdemeanor criminal charges. Automobilia Inc., a chain of quick lubes and car washes based in Tualatin, Ore., in collaboration with Scappoose, Ore.-based PlumbCrazy, a plumbing business run by Patrick Slevin, were convicted of pumping more than 6,560 gallons of a watery mixture – including used motor oi...

Northern Oils has proposed a lubricants blending plant in Moray, on a harbor in northeast Scotland. The distributor claims it would be the countrys first such facility. The Moray Council received Northern Oils application Jan. 23 and set a target determination date of March 25, according to the councils website. Located at Buckie Harbour, the blending plant would process about 2,000 metric tons per month, according to the application. Moray is a local government council area in northeastern Scot...

Russian oil major Gazprom Neft posted a 10 percent increase in combined base oil and lubricant production in 2013 compared to the previous year and invested $55 million in its lube manufacturing. In 2013 we produced 492,200 tons of lubricants [and base oil], a record output volume for the company, and we plan to achieve the same result this year too, Alexandar Trukhan, general director of Gazprom Neft Lubricants, told Lube Report on Monday. Of this total volume, around 200,000 tons are high qual...

Dover Chemical, Evonik and BASF each recently increased prices for chemicals used by the lubricants industry. Dover, Ohio-based Dover Chemical raised off-list prices 5 cents per pound for all grades of its liquid and solid chlorinated products effective March 1 or as contracts permit. The products include several types of chlorinated paraffins sold under the Paroil, Chloroflo, Chlorowax, Chlorez, Hordaresin, Hordaflam and Doverguard brand names, along with Doverchlor brand chlorinated olefins. D...