Volume 15 Issue 16

SSY Base Oil Shipping Report

Europe has been fairly active, especially within the Mediterranean. The U.S. is reporting a considerable amount of activity. Asia, however, is flat with a sizeable amount of April space still. U.S. Gulf April space has been scarce from the U.S. Gulf to Far East. From Houston to China, 6,000-8,000 metric tons of chemicals went in the high $70s -low $80s per metric ton while 10,000 tons of styrene to China fetched mid $60s/t. There does appear to be a two-tier market, however, with the prompt ship...

EPA: Most Chlorinated Paraffins Must Go

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency stated it could eliminate mid- and long-chain chlorinated paraffins in U.S. commerce as early as May 2016 using its authority under the Toxic Substances Control Act, alarming CP manufacturers, who say elimination would hit them and their customers hard across many applications. Chlorinated paraffins are chlorinated alkanes that have carbon chain lengths ranging from 10 to 38 with varying degrees of chlorination. They are used in metalworking fluids as ext...

Group IIIs Next Trick - Differentiation

STUTTGART, Germany – With API Group III base stocks proliferating worldwide, its important to distinguish each suppliers products from the pack, said Infineum International Ltd. at the Uniti Mineral Oil Technology Congress here last week. But a more diverse global portfolio also demands new API base oil interchange guidelines, which will be challenging to implement. Speaking during the Infineum Trends 2015: Making a Difference in a Complex World pre-conference event, Yannick Jullien pointe...

Can Russia Skip the Imports?

Russias largest lube producers increasingly are trumpeting the new government policy of import substitution, urging users to switch to locally made products as a countermeasure to Western sanctions imposed over the countrys actions in Ukraine. Since last autumn, many officials from the top three lube makers, Gazprom Neft, Rosneft and Lukoil, have been appealing to large Russian companies in the machine building, metallurgy, oil and gas exploration, refining and agricultural sectors, as well as t...

Mexican Market Draws Interest

Mexicos lubricant demand grew about 2 percent in 2013, industry insiders say, and that plus market liberalization have been enough to attract increased attention from some suppliers. It also helps that the nation is a large lube market, with demand of 690,000 metric tons in 2013, according to estimates by Kline & Co. The U.S.-based consultancy said that represented a 2-percent increase over 2012. Mexicana de Lubricantes, a blender based in Guadalajara, Mexico, estimated that demand grew 1.8...

Briefly Noted

North American Lubricants of Scottsdale, Ariz., appointed Aaron Read interim president, succeeding Todd Peterson, who resigned to pursue other opportunities. River Edge, N.J.-based Halocarbon Products, producer of inert oils, greases and waxes, named David Bacon as CEO effective April 28. The American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers board of directors named Chet M. Thompson the associations next president effective May 4. Thompson – a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Crowell and Moring LLP – will succeed Charles T. Drevna, who is retiring after eight years as AFPMs president.