Volume 1 Issue 3

Phillips Completes Tosco Purchase

Phillips Petroleum Co. announced that it has completed its purchase of Tosco Corp. after receiving regulatory clearance from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. Although the acquisition was driven by fuel refining and marketing interests, it also brings several well-known lubricants brands – Phillips, 76 and Kendall – under the same corporate umbrella. A spokesman said Phillips has named Tom Liberti to head the combined lubricants businesses but added that the company has yet to decid...

$2.4 Billion Buys Cognis

Bio-synthetic chemical producer Cognis has been purchased by two investment firms which plan to keep its business model and steer the company toward a public stock offering within five years. Henkel KGaA announced Sept. 13 that it has agreed to sell its former division to Schroder Ventures and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners for EUR 2.6 billion (U.S.$2.4 billion). A partner of Frankfurt, Germany-based Schroder said the purchasers are enthused about the prospects for Cognis, one of the worlds larg...

Industry Meetings Cancelled

At least two lubricants industry conferences have been called off in the wake of Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C. Noria Corp., which was scheduled to open its Practicing Oil Analysis 2001 Conference today in Tulsa, Okla., put the event off until March 19-21. In addition, SAE International shelved its Fall Fuels and Lubricants Exhibition and Meeting, which had been scheduled for Sept. 24-27 in San Antonio, to combine it with the spring meeting. The spring meeting will b...