Volume 16 Issue 25

SSY Base Oil Shipping Report

It has probably been one of the quietest weeks of the year for all markets primarily due to the June 23 Brexit referendum, which is causing jitters throughout global commodity and financial markets. The mood on routes into Asia is more subdued, with some United States-based charterers admitting they would rather halt further business until after Thursdays vote deciding whether Britain will withdraw from the European Union. Ethanol is the principal grade these days, with ethylene dichloride also ...

Majors Bump Up Finished Lube Prices

Several major oil companies recently informed U.S. customers of price increases on finished lubricants, with most going into effect around mid-July and most in the range of 4 percent to 6 percent. Suppliers cited various factors including increased costs for raw materials used in manufacturing – such as base oil – and expenses for delivery and packaging material. ExxonMobil informed customers it would increase prices on its branded and unbranded lubricants and greases by up to 4 per...

Suncor Seeks Buyer for Petro-Canada Lubes Unit

Suncor Energy launched an auction of its Petro-Canada lubricants division, Reuters reported on June 16. Citing unnamed sources, the report said the sale was expected to fetch as much as $800 million and help pay off debt due to recent acquisitions. Those included a C$6.9 billion (U.S. $4.8 billion) acquisition of Canadian Oil Sands Ltd. in February and March and an agreement in April to pay C$937 million for an additional 5 percent stake in its Syncrude oil sands joint venture from the Canadian ...

Azerbaijan Mulls Group II/III Project

An Azeri state investment promotion fund is pitching the idea of a small API Group II and Group III base oil plant to potential investors, according to the funds 2016 catalog of investment projects in Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Foundation said a plant with capacity of 80,000 metric tons per year could be built for U.S. $350 million. It suggested the project be financed by private and state entities. Azpromo has proposed a site in the Sumqayit Chemical Industrial P...

Afton Chemical Invests in Brazil

Afton Chemical Corp. announced plans for a new petroleum additive facility in Brazil that can handle both lubricant and fuel additives, and is expected to become operational by mid-2017. The investment cost was not disclosed. The facility will at Bayer Industrial Park in Belford Roxo, Rio de Janeiro. It will be operated by Afton Chemical Industria de Aditivos Ltda, a Brazil-based subsidiary of Afton. This investment reflects our commitment to this key strategic, growing market, said Pablo Blazqu...

Correction

The article linking to this page incorrectly reported that Safety-Kleen and Enterprise have a new agreement to recycle used lubricants from Enterprise auto rental agencies at North American airports. In fact, the agreement dates to 2009, and Enterprise announced last week that the volume of used oil collected by Safety-Kleen had surpassed 5 million gallons, with 5 million gallons of new EcoPower motor oil used.

Briefly Noted

Jet-Lube, Inc. moved its headquarters and manufacturing plant from Houston to Rockwall, Texas, and consolidated with fellow specialty chemicals CSW Industrials company Whitmore. ExxonMobil broke ground last week in Rotterdam, Netherlands, for a new hydrocracker to upgrade heavier hydrocarbon byproducts into cleaner, higher-value finished products, including API Group II base stocks. Gazpromneft-Lubricants agreed to supply marine lubes to Russias Sovkomflots 19 ships and to supply St. Petersburgs underground rail system. Effective July 1, Oxeawill raise prices on NPG by 100 per metric ton and TMP by 70/t in Europe and on NPG by $70/t and 3 cents per pound in North America. The chemicals are used in synthetic lubricants.