Volume 17 Issue 45

SSY Base Oil Shipping Report

European markets continue to lag behind the other major markets in the United States and Asia in terms of activity. Freight levels in Europe are therefore soft in comparison to the other regions. U.S. Gulf The amount of business being conducted into Asia from the U.S. Gulf is quite enormous. Already, most of the regular ships report little or no remaining space for November, but what has relieved the pressure is the considerable number of additional ships that have gone on berth. More ships are ...

More U.S. Finished Lubricant Prices to Rise

Shell, BP Lubricants USA, Phillips 66, Citgo and Omni Specialty Packaging informed U.S. customers of upcoming price increases for finished lubricants that take effect from early through mid-December, citing factors such as rising costs in base oils, additives and other raw materials, as well as for packaging and transportation. Each company said some price changes may fall outside the general increase amount. Shell will raise lubricant prices up to 6 percent effective Dec. 11. BP Lubricants USA...

Quick Lubes Cut Semi-synthetic Prices

The average cost a quick lube charged for an oil change using five quarts of semi-synthetic oil dropped more than 20 percent to a bit more than $43, while declining less than 1 percent to just shy of $75 for full synthetic, compared to 2016, National Oil & Lube News reported in its 2017 Fast Lube Operators Survey. Published in three parts – in its September, October and November issues – the 2017 survey compiled data from more than 7,000 facilities, up from 5,837 facilities for t...

ATIEL Expands Testing, Imposes Fee

The Technical Association of the European Lubricants Industry is expanding its program of monitoring engine oils certified as meeting ACEA specifications to include areas outside Europe, the associations president told a conference here two weeks ago. ATIEL has also instituted an annual registration fee of 975 to fund the program and this month introduces a trademark that registrants may display on oil packages. Our conclusion is that the surveys are useful and need to be intensified, ATIEL Pres...

Q3 Kind to SK Lubricants, Safety-Kleen

SK Lubricants reported increased operating profit and Clean Harbors Safety-Kleen segment posted higher third-party revenues for the quarter ending Sept. 30, compared to a year earlier. SK Innovation announced that the operating profit for its SK Lubricants subsidiary jumped 23 percent to 144 billion won (U.S. $129.1 million). Sales revenue rose 25 percent to 750 billion won. In the third quarter, the base oil spread dropped around $3 [per barrel] from the second quarter due to increased raw mate...

Russian Lubes Through a Global Lens

MOSCOW – Russias lubricant market is expected to rebound after a period of stagnation in the countrys economy and low consumer spending, while stringent original equipment manufacturer demands and fierce competition will define global lubricants in coming years, RPIs International Lubricants Conference heard here recently. Russian gross domestic product may grow between 1.5 percent and 2.5 percent annually over the next few years, the World Bank estimates. Rosstat, the countrys governmenta...

NLGI Names New Executive Director

Crystal OHalloran is the new executive director of the National Lubricating Grease Institute, in Lees Summit, Missouri. A certified association executive with 12 years of association management experience and an MBA, shell lead the institutes global strategy and community outreach, manage operations, and drive membership growth and engagement. Kim Hartley, executive director since 2007, has been tapped as meeting planner. The quality of NLGIs meetings became legendary under Kims tenure, said the...