Last weeks International Petroleum Week event took the wind out of the sails of the European market, while both Asia and the Americas succumbed to holiday fever – Chinese New Year, Carnival and Presidents Day. U.S. Gulf The run of methanol into Asia has eased, but there is still a monumental amount of enquiry left over, looking for either February or March space. Styrene has resurfaced, as has ethylene dichloride and mixed xylenes, and there are still parcels of phenol and ethanol ready to...

At last weeks meeting of the American Petroleum Institutes Lubricants Group in San Antonio, Texas, ballot results were announced for official adoption of categories CK-4 and FA-4 – the new heavy-duty engine oil categories, previously called PC-11, which have been in development since 2011. For the record, the ballot results were as follows: Photo: Thomas Lerch / Dreamstime CK-4 and FA-4 are the new heavy-duty engine oil categories, previously called PC-11 during development. The use on ...

The global vehicle fleet – commercial vehicles and passenger cars – is expected to top 2.4 billion by 2035, doubling the current 1.2 billion total, according to the 2016 BP Energy Outlook. This is expected to play a major role in the rise of oil consumption over that time. About two-thirds of the increase in oil consumption reflects higher transport demand, as the number of vehicles outside of the OECD triples over the next 20 years, to around 1.5 billion vehicles, BP Group Chief Eco...

Russias new passenger car and light commercial vehicle sales dropped by 43 percent last year because of the unfavorable economy, and the decrease could lead to lower motor oil consumption, a consultancy found. In 2015, 1.4 million passenger cars and light commercial vehicles were sold in the country, roughly 1 million units fewer than in the previous year, according to a study by Moscow-based Russian Automotive Market Research. The consultancy predicts declining sales in the passenger and light ...

Lubricant blenders in Nigeria are attempting to foil counterfeiters by using tamper-proof packaging features. Most blenders in Nigeria use tamperproof [features] in their lube containers in Nigeria, said Emmanuel Ekpenyong, head of Lubricants for Honeywell Oil and gas, Lagos, Nigeria. This you can readily find on 200-, 205- or 210-liter drums as well as the retail packs of 0.5 liter, 1 liter, 4 liter, 5 liter and 25 liter sizes, Ekpenyong told Lube Report. This is primarily to assure the custome...

Feb. 22 is the deadline for submitting comments and more data for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agencys ongoing preliminary risk assessment of medium- and long-chain chlorinated paraffins. The risk assessment forms the bulwark that supports EPAs impending ban on manufacture and import of MCCPs and LCCPs, slated for implementation by mid-2017. For more information, read the Dec. 30 Lube Report article, EPA Reveals its Thinking on Chlorinated Paraffins.