Volume 2 Issue 20

ChevronTexaco Stung by Independent's Jabs

Garry Rooney says he hadnt heard whether ChevronTexaco planned to maintain Texaco lubricant brands. Now he knows. Rooney, the former president of 76 Lubricants, last year started his own company, North American Lubricants Co., described as a hybrid cooperative-broker supplying automotive lubes to installers. In February, the company mailed a promotional postcard showing a mock-up of a fictitious newspaper with a headline that declared: Chevron and Texaco Merge and Texaco Name to Go Away. The mes...

Fire-stricken Ergon Down, Not Out

An Ergon official said this week that the company is ahead of schedule to repair damage caused by an April 30 fire at its Vicksburg, Miss., base oil refinery and that it has sufficient inventories to supply contract customers during the halt in production. Because we batch run, we keep a months worth of inventory, said Mike Burnett, vice president of Ergons Petroleum Specialties Marketing Division. Were already a full week ahead of schedule to resume operations so were confident that well be abl...

Infineum Moves to Rationalize Plants

Infineum International Ltd. announced Monday that it is expanding a plant in Berre, France to produce detergents for marine lubricants. Officials described the detergents as proprietary new products designed for use in trunk piston engine oils and cylinder oils. They added that marine lubes are a growing market for the company. Detergents control and minimize deposits. The Milton, U.K.-based additive company also said it plans to close operations in Campana, Argentina, and Baytown, Texas, while ...

FTC Puts Shell-Pennzoil Under Microscope

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is expected to signal within two weeks whether it will raise issues that could lead to conditions for approval of Shell Oil Co.s proposal to buy Pennzoil-Quaker State Co. The Independent Lubricant Manufacturers Association and individual blenders are warning that the deal could hamper blender access to Group II base oils, just as the need for those stocks is growing. They also have raised concerns about the deals implications for base oil capacity that was suppo...