Falling commodity prices have interrupted trade flows in many areas, and many cargoes have been sidelined over the past fortnight. This applies to all regions – Europe in particular. U.S. Gulf There have not been too many changes in the U.S. Gulf over the past couple of weeks. Transatlantic eastbound has increased slightly as a result of high demand from European customers for styrene and benzene following Shell Moerdijks force majeure, which could be in place for the rest of the year. BP ...

Ergon yesterday said it will invest $150 million in upgrades at its Vicksburg, Miss., naphthenic base oil refinery, including enhancements to its crude distillation unit, modifications to its base oil hydrotreaters and expansion of storage facilities to accommodate new product offerings. These investments will allow Ergon to further diversify its product portfolio, Don Davis, president of Ergon Refining Inc., said in a news release. Davis said the upgrades will allow Ergon to produce next genera...

Russian lube marketer Lukoil has started using trucks to deliver base oils to lubricant blenders in Western Europe, the company said last week. Tanker trucks are used to deliver API Group I solvent neutral 150 and 500 oils loaded at Lukoils rented storage facility in the Hemiksem TOV terminal near Antwerp, Belgium. This distribution project in smaller volume installments is not started by chance, Alexey Strelchenko, LLK Internationals deputy general director, said in an Oct. 8 news release. This...

Germany-based biobased metalworking fluids manufacturer Oemeta plans to build its first U.S. manufacturing plant in Utah. Oemeta is truly excited for the opportunity to partner with Utah in establishing our first U.S.-based facility in Salt Lake County, Andrew Leech, president and CEO of Oemeta Inc., said in a news release from the Utah Governors Office of Economic Development. According to the economic development office, Oemeta indicated it will create 58 new jobs over the next seven years. Th...

Matrica, a 50-50 joint venture between Eni subsidiary Versalis and Novamont, welcomed European stakeholders on Friday to its newly-built Italian biorefinery complex, which converts vegetable oils into various carboxylic acids used in lubricant and grease production. The joint venture hosted an open house at the facility in Porto Torres for stakeholders attending the third Bioeconomy Conference held in Turin. The projects key plants include a bio-monomer unit, an esterification plant, and a polym...