Asian markets continued to see a good level of fresh enquiry and space has tightened a little. European business has also moved up a gear and on some routes it is more of a challenge to find prompt space. U.S. routes are all generally unchanged. U.S. Gulf It has not been such a strong start in the United States as in other areas but the overall picture is one of steady trades and a limited amount of January space. U.S. Gulf-to-Far East for instance. A prompt requirement for 10,000 tons of paraxy...

The Petroleum Quality Institute of America issued an advisory last week to warn consumers that a sample of Valvolines NextGen SAE 5W-20 failed to meet certain industry specs. Purchased at a retail store in New Jersey, the bottle of Valvoline NextGen 5W-20 that PQIA tested did not meet volatility requirements set by the American Petroleum Institute and the International Lubricants Standardization and Approval Committee, PQIA president Thomas Glenn told Lube Report. Part of Valvolines NextGen prod...

Japans Idemitsu Kosan Co. announced last week the start-up of a new lubricant plant in Haiphong City, Vietnam. Officials said the 31,000 tons per year facility is meant to take advantage of Vietnams quickly growing market. With a population of roughly 90 million in 2013, of which more than 60 percent is under the age of 30, Vietnam has been enjoying… economic growth of approximately 6 percent annually, Idemitsu Kosan said in a news release. It is forecast that the demand for lubricants in Viet...

BRB International plans a 4.5-hectare (11.2-acre) expansion at its headquarters location in the Netherlands, where it will build a new oil additives plant. Recently BRB – a producer and supplier of silicones, additives and chemicals – announced it signed a letter of intent with the municipality of Leudal to enable the company to realize its plans for an expansion at the Ittervoort industrial estate. As a result of the companys expansion plan, half of the 9-hectare expansion planned b...

WD-40s net income totaled $11.5 million for the quarter ending Nov. 30, up 5 percent from the year-earlier period, while net sales were up slightly at $95.5 million. Earnings per share rose to 74 cents per diluted share in the companys first fiscal quarter, compared to 69 cents a year earlier. San Diego-based WD-40s fiscal year goes from Sept. 1 to Aug. 31. Compared to year-ago figures, fiscal first-quarter sales in the Americas declined 3 percent to $44 million, sales in the Europe, Middle East...

Shell and Hyundai extended their Russian agreement for lubricants supply, training, technical support and marketing events to a five-year period. Under the deal signed last month, Shell will supply Hyundai Motor CIS service centers with its finished lubricants produced in its plant in Torzhok, and will support the dealers with technical, training and marketing activities over the next five years. Hyundai considers Shell its preferred lubricants supplier in Europe, and this renewed agreement also...

Investment giant Berkshire Hathaway agreed to divest around $1.4 billion of Phillips 66 common stock in exchange for Phillips 66s flow improver segment. Berkshire Hathaway, the international conglomerate which also owns specialty chemicals manufacturer Lubrizol Corp., announced in a Dec. 30 press release that it will buy the business – known as Phillips Specialty Products Inc. (PSPI) – for approximately 19 million Philips 66 shares. The exact number of shares will be determined at th...