The U.S. has more freight enquiries than it can handle. Both Europe and Asia had a steady week, with some routes softer but others stable or a touch firmer. U.S. Gulf It has been yet another week of enquiry after enquiry on routes to Asia, except theres no space that can take care of all the requirements. Methanol, ethanol, ethylene dichloride and styrene are in the driving seat, and there has been a small amount of base oil towards China too. Realistically, there is not much chance of securing ...

Puralube plans to partner with NexLube Tampa to complete its Florida rerefinery and enable it to produce API Group III base oil by 2018, according to documents for a meeting this week of the governing board of a Florida port. The rerefinerys construction was suspended in late 2013. During a meeting yesterday, Port Tampa Bays board approved the transfer of a lease agreement from NexLube Tampa LLC to Puraglobe Florida LLC – contingent upon completion of a joint venture between NexLube and Pu...

The American Petroleum Institute will discontinue licensing the use of the Energy Conserving designation with its API SL and API SM gasoline engine oil categories. This action will be effective Dec. 30, 2016, and does not cover API SN oils that have earned the Resource Conserving designation – although they could be on the watch list next. APIs decision became necessary after ASTM D02 Technical Committee B informed API that the Sequence VIB engine test used to measure Energy Conserving per...

Slavneft, a joint venture between Gazprom Neft and Rosneft, delayed the start-up of its Group III base oil plant now under construction in Yaroslavl, Russia, from this summer to the first quarter of 2017. The 100,000 tons per year Group III base oil plant was previously expected to begin stream by the end of 2016 at the latest. The joint ventures Yaroslavl site currently has a 250,000 t/y Group I base oil plant. Photo: Slavneft Slavneft, a joint venture between Gazprom Neft and Rosneft, delayed...

The Russian government has sought to sell off state-owned assets since last December due to continuing economic problems, including lubricant producers Rosneft and Bashneft. During one of the biggest privatization programs since the 1990s, the Kremlin is desperate to raise money and fill the federal budget gaps that have emerged because of the crash in oil prices and sanctions by Western countries. The state expects to cash in around 800 billion rubles (U.S. $10.7 billion) from this sale of asse...