A Western Canada waste management company has agreed to acquire the assets of Mohawk Lubricants Ltd., including the worlds first commercial rerefinery for used oil. The Canadian $9 million (U.S. $5.8 million) acquisition, expected to close Sept. 1, would give Calgary-based Newalta Corp. possession of Mohawks North Vancouver, B.C., rerefinery, which has capacity to process 600 barrels per day of used lubricating oil and to produce 500 b/d of rerefined base oil. Newalta would also obtain Mohawks c...

First quarter lubricant sales in the United States fell 2.7 percent from the first quarter of 2001, according to the latest Quarterly Index of Lubricant Sales, released Aug. 12 by the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association. The industrial segment led the decline, with sales volumes dropping 5 percent. Automotive sales dipped 0.8 percent, while sales of greases fell by 18.8 percent. U.S. base oil production dropped 5.3 percent compared to the first quarter of last year. Paraffinic produc...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has turned aside a request by the American Trucking Associations to delay a mandate requiring cleaner diesel engines beginning in October. The association filed a petition June 19 complaining that the new emissions caps would hurt fleet operators by driving up vehicle costs, shortening maintenance intervals and increasing engine wear rates. The agency did not formally respond to the petition, but a spokeswoman said yesterday that EPA Administrator Christi...