European markets are finally showing some improvement, while Asia continues to push on into December. Its now only the U.S. markets that are lacking vigour, and there is no telling if things will get going before year-end. U.S. Gulf It has been another week without much excitement in the U.S. markets. Transatlantic eastbound has been the only route that has constantly produced a regular flow of business, even if it is just styrene and little else. Rates on this route are pretty stable, however, ...

Average ticket totals for oil change-plus facilities – places that change oil, but not as their primary business – reached more than $90, with average yearly sales per store topping $961,000 and net profits at nearly 17 percent, National Oil & Lube News reported. Published in NOLNs November issue, the inaugural Oil Change-Plus Operator Survey compiled data from 3,328 facilities in all 50 U.S. states, examining quick change-plus facilities operations, prices, demographics, employ...

Ergons entry into Africas naphthenic market may intensify the competition in the region, where demand stems now mainly from the electrical industry for insulating oils. Ergon Europe MEA recently appointed Orbichem Petrochemicals as its exclusive naphthenic insulating oil, base oil and process oil distributor in South Africa and the sub-Saharan African region. The partnership with Ergon ushers in a new era not just for Orbichem, but for the region as a whole, said Cliff Classen, CEO of Orbichem, ...

MOSCOW – Russias lubricant demand will stagnate through 2020, due to the countrys economy contraction triggered by international sanctions, declining crude oil prices and capital flight, speakers told an industry event here last week. Another factor is a new oil tax maneuver introduced by the Russian government this summer, causing an estimated 20 percent base oil production cost surge for each of the next three years, according to LLK Internationals Maxim Donde. This and the 30 percent fa...

ExxonMobil Chemical completed testing to confirm the 50,000 metric tons per year capacity for its new metallocene polyalphaolefin synthetic lubricant base stock plant in Baytown, Texas. Product testing and qualification are complete, Damon Davis, ExxonMobil Chemicals vice president of global synthetic fluids and lubricant base stocks business, said in a news release issued Monday, adding that the company is now shipping the mPAO from the Baytown plant to customers. SpectraSyn Elite mPAO base sto...

Dow Chemical agreed to sell Angus Chemical to private equity investment firm Golden Gate Capital for $1.2 billion. Subject to approvals, the transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2015. Angus manufactures and distributes nitroalkanes and their derivatives, which are used as additives and intermediates for products in industries such as metalworking, oil and gas, water treatment and paints and coatings. Examples of its products include a variety of primary amino alcohols and cor...