Asian markets are beginning to experience tightness on some routes. A slight improvement was noticed on a couple European routes too, but nevertheless there remains a substantial overhang of open tonnage. The U.S. had a pretty quiet week. U.S. Gulf Transatlantic eastbound was about the only route out of the U.S. that saw any sustained activity, and again, it was mainly styrene that caused all the excitement. Freight rates remain fairly firm as a result, with typical 5,000 ton parcels from Housto...

Global lubricant demand – including process oil – is expected to grow about 1.4 percent per year to 45.5 million tons by 2023, up from 39.5 million tons in 2013, according to consultancy Kline & Co. George Morvey, industry manager for Klines Energy Practice, said during a webinar last month that Shell stayed the top global supplier of finished lubricants in 2013 followed by ExxonMobil, BP, Total, Chevron, PetroChina, Sinopec, Idemitsu, Lukoil and Fuchs. The global top 10 account...

Chevron Phillips Chemical Co. LP yesterday announced a study to expand its low-viscosity polyalphaolefin capacity by 10,000 metric tons per year at its 48,000 t/y Cedar Bayou plant in Baytown, Texas. The company said it has also filed the necessary environmental notifications with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Chevron Phillips Chemical would seek final project investment approval from its board of directors in the second quarter of 2015, and targets project completion for 2016. ...

For a decade, officials at Quaker Chemical Corp. had a chance to observe Binol AB, which served as a Quaker distributor for industrial lubricants. Apparently Quaker liked what it saw, because it bought the Swedish biolubricants producer Monday for SEK 137 million (U.S. $18.9 million). Binol, headquartered in Karlshamn, Sweden, makes and markets vegetable-based biolubes under its Binol and BioSafe brands for two segments: metalworking along with forestry and construction. With a sales office in R...

American Refining Group agreed in principle to sell the Brad Penn Lubricants brand to D-A Lubricant Co., of Lebanon, Ind. Terms were not disclosed. The transition is expected to be complete by Dec. 31, 2014. The companies said they also reached a blending and packaging agreement in which ARG will continue to blend and package most of the Brad Penn Lubricants at its Bradford, Pa., facility. ARG currently has capacity to refine 2,400 barrels per day of lubricant base stocks at its Bradford refiner...

Afton Chemicals operating profit was down slightly, and profits for Fuchs and BPs lubricants business were up, compared to 2013s third quarter. Afton Chemical Afton Chemical reported operating profit of $94.3 million in the quarter ending Sept. 30, down 1.3 percent from $95.5 million in the year-earlier quarter. Additives segment revenue reached $585.6 million, up 1.4 percent. As a whole, Aftons parent company, Richmond, Va.-headquartered NewMarket, posted net income of $56.9 million, or $4.53 p...

Belarus slashed export taxes by 8 percent for some petrochemical products – including base oils and lubricants – sold outside of the custom union this East European country shares with Russia and Kazakhstan. The duty reduction was adopted in an Oct. 27 government decree and took effect five days later. It lowers the export tax on crude oil from U.S. $345 per ton to $317 per ton. The export duty on light and medium distillates is set to be $209, down from $227. The same rate is applie...