Volume 16 Issue 7
SSY Base Oil Shipping Report
February 17, 2016Last 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...
Its Official: Heavy-Duty Upgrade Is Done
February 17, 2016At 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 ...
Global Vehicle Fleet to Double by 2035
February 17, 2016The 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...
Russian Car Sales Plunged in 2015
February 17, 2016Russias 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 ...
Nigerian Blenders Fight Counterfeiting via Packaging
February 17, 2016Lubricant 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...
Chlorinated Paraffin Comments Due to EPA
February 17, 2016Feb. 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.
Briefly Noted
February 17, 2016Flyers Energy, LLC completed acquisition of Chevron lubricants distributor RE Goodspeed & Sons Distributing, which distributes in California and northern Nevada. LLK International started supplying its Genesis Special FD 5W-20 synthetic oil for first-fill to Ford Sollers, a Russian car manufacturing joint venture of Ford Motor Co. and Sollers. Lanxess said it now produces its phosphoric acid partial ester Additin RC 3760 anticorrosion and antiwear additive – previously shipped only from Mannheim, Germany – at its site in Epierre, France, effectively doubling manufacturing capacity for the product. Fuchs Petrolub completed its acquisition of Sweden-based lubricant supplier Statoil Fuel & Retail Lubricants.