Total S.A. announced recently that a planned upgrade of a Normandy refinery will allow the complex to produce high quality base oils. So far, however, the French energy giant is saying little else about the project. The worlds fourth-largest international oil company announced April 24 that it will invite bids for engineering, procurement and construction contracts for a Euro 500 million (U.S. $590 million) expansion and upgrade of its Gonfreville refinery near Le Havre. The refinery, Frances la...

Owners of Acrotech Industries Inc. have acquired the Lubriko and Moly-XL brand names in a going-out-of-business sale by Master Lubricants Co. Westville, New Jersey-based Master Lubricants sold the brands to Dynamic Industrial Group, a holding company created by Acrotech owners specifically for the transaction. Production operations, including equipment, will be transferred to Acrotechs plant in Milwaukee, Wis. The deal is the second such acquisition for Acrotech, which was formed in 2002 as a pa...

International Group Inc. announced this month that it has purchased BPs wax business in North and Central America. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The transaction includes formulations, trademarks, manufacturing knowledge, inventory and accounts for wax operations that have been handled by BP Global Specialty Products. BP will close and try to sell its wax blending plant and office in Skokie, Ill., and a smaller leased blending plant in San Francisco. The business employed 60 individuals, ...

Lubricating Specialties Co. announced the opening of a new distribution center – a 100,000-square-foot warehouse with 3.5 acres of outdoor storage space in Commerce, Calif., near Los Angeles. The new center, which is being leased, replaces a 30,000-square-foot warehouse also in Commerce. The Commerce distribution center has seven indoor loading docks and is located between Lubricating Specialties blending plants in Pico Rivera and Vernon, Calif. The companys most recent previous expansion ...