Whilst business has not entirely descended into the depths of summer, there is a distinct absence of August requirements throughout the marketplace, which bodes badly for the next couple of weeks. Americas Establishing a freight rate for prompt shipment from the U.S. Gulf to Europe is somewhat hypothetical at the moment since there is so little prompt tonnage around. There is therefore little point in seeking competitive levels and so many charterers have deferred their shipments until later in ...

Despite the pain of several closures, the world saw a net gain of 35,000 barrels per day of base oil manufacturing capacity over the past year. Global capacity is now just shy of 1.1 million b/d, according to the new 2015 Guide to Global Base Oil Refining from LubesnGreases magazine. ExxonMobil led the charge for growth, adding 7,000 barrels a day of API Group II capacity in Baytown, Texas, and another 6,000 in Jurong, Singapore, the magazines editors estimate. Including affiliates, it now contr...

The Russian government imposed a new petrochemical industry taxation rule that envisions gradual decrease on an annual basis of the export tax for crude oil and petroleum derivatives such as fuels and lubricants. Effective Jan.1 in accordance with this rule the government issued a monthly rate index tied to crude oil price fluctuation on international markets. The Finance Ministry announced a significant decrease of the export taxes that will take effect in August. On Aug. 1 the crude oil export...

S-Oils base oils business and BPs lubricants business each reported higher second quarter profits, and SK Lubricants profit was down, all compared to a year earlier. SK Lubricants SK Lubricants posted operating profit of 41.5 billion South Korean won (U.S. $35.7 million) for the quarter ending June 30, down 47.7 percent from 79.4 billion a year earlier. Sales declined 11.4 percent to 656.4 billion won. SK operates a 40,000 barrels per day API Group II/III base oil plant at its refinery complex i...

A Hydrodec subsidiary leased a 9-acre site in northwest United Kingdom for use in the first phase of its planned 75 million liters per year API Group II/II+ rerefinery. Hydrodec Rerefining (UK) Ltd. entered the lease agreement with The Manchester Ship Canal Co. Ltd. (a member of Peel Ports Group) for the site site near Eastham Locks, Port Wirral, Merseyside, northwest England. Subject to completion of the first phase of development within three years, HRR can then sign a long-term lease for an a...

The American Chemistry Council launched a U.S. specialty chemical market volume index designed to provide a timely source of market trends for 28 market and functional specialty chemical segments, including segments relating to the lubricants industry. Patrick Hurston, a spokesman for American Chemistry Council, said the specialty chemicals volume index is based on production volumes. He explained the councils economist pulls the data together from a variety of sources, including surveys and mar...