Volume 3 Issue 13

Shell Shortlists Paralubes Suitors

Shell Oil Products US has winnowed to three the field of potential buyers of its stake in the Excel Paralubes base oil business, according to sources familiar with the process. The companies on the list submitted bids ahead of a deadline that had been set two weeks ago by Salomon Smith Barney, the New York financial services firm managing the sale, according to the sources, who spoke on condition that they not be identified. Shell is expected to make a decision within the next several weeks. Da...

zMax Marketers Settle for $1 Million

The marketers of zMax automotive aftermarket lubricant additives have agreed to reimburse customers $1 million to settle a false advertising suit brought by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. The settlement, approved March 21 by a federal judge in Greensboro, N.C., prohibits Speedway Motorsports Inc. and subsidiary Oil-Chem Research Corp. from continuing to make general claims that zMax Power System improves fuel economy, reduces engine wear and corrosion, lowers emissions and extends engine lif...

Indian Strikers Protest Oil Privatization

Citing national security concerns in Indias core hydrocarbon sector, workmen unions of Hindustan Petroleum Corp. and Bharat Petroleum Corp. embarked on a three-day strike March 25 to 27 to protest privatization of the two Indian oil majors. Hindustan and Bharat together have a 40 percent share of Indias petroleum retail segment and 30 percent of the lube business. Hindustan alone has a 20 percent lube market share and commands 41 percent of Indias installed base oil capacity. Currently, formal ...

Curtiss-Wright Buys Film Lubes Business

Metal treatment services provider Curtiss-Wright Corp. has bought the leading U.S. provider of solid film lubricant coatings, E/M Engineered Coatings Solutions, from Morgan Chemical Products Inc. The deal was valued at $21 million, including $16.7 million in cash and $4.3 million from receivables. The acquisition includes six American plants that make more than 1,100 products for the automotive, industrial and aerospace industries. We see this as offering a growth opportunity because it expands ...