Probex Corp. announced last week that it has widened the search for financing options for a $130 million used oil reprocessing plant it plans to build in Wellsville, Ohio. The Dallas company also reported that an insurance instrument designed to protect senior lenders has expired. It is now trying to renegotiate the instrument, which is needed for the project tomove forward. Probex plans for the Wellsville plant to use its ProTerra technology to reprocess used lubricants into base oils that perf...

Automotive refrigerant sales – or rather, the lack thereof – were all that kept Valvoline from heating up in 2002. Parent company Ashland Inc. reported Monday that Valvolines operating income fell 4.9 percent to $77 million for the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, due to declining sales of R-12 refrigerant. Excluding R-12, operating income jumped 13.2 percent, thanks largely to rising sales of premium products. For several years, Valvolines strategy has been to develop new products, add n...

After a five-year hiatus, ExxonMobil is resuming production of Group III base oils at its refinery in Fawley, U.K. The company said it made the decision because Group III demand has risen since the operation was idled in 1997. ExxonMobil, by far the biggest base oil producer in Europe, described the new fluids as Group III-plus. Exact specifications have yet to be determined but officials said the slate will include 4 centistoke and 6 centistoke cuts, with typical viscosity indices of 140 and po...