Chinese oil giant Sinopec decided recently to begin selling its flagship line of motor oils through its expansive network of gasoline stations – a move that is part of a broad and ongoing effort to boost lube sales, especially for premium products. The company is also seeking automaker endorsements of its products, but at least one observer expressed skepticism about its chances for success. Sinopec Corp. is one of two large state-owned oil companies – the other being PetroChina Co. ...

The bumpy path of disinvestment in Indian oil majors Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd. and Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd. hit its biggest roadblock last week, when Indias Supreme Court ruled that privatization required Parliaments approval, as both companies were created by legislation during the 1970s. Supreme Court Justices S. Rajendra Babu and G.P. Mathur stressed that the disinvestment policy was not being challenged. However, its legality on procedural grounds was questioned by the petitioners, t...

The Technical Association of the European Lubricants Industry — ATIEL — this summer adopted a definition for a sixth group of lubricating base stocks: polyinternalolefins. The initiative was driven by South African energy company Sasol, which produces PIOs and states that they offer performance similar to polyalphaolefins. In terms of chemical composition, theyre not very different from PAOs, said Massimo Ciali, global market manager of lubricants for Sasols Olefins and Surfactants d...

Shell Oil Products US has begun closing its lubricant blending plant in St. Louis and expects to have the facility fully shuttered by mid-October. The plant is the third of seven that the company decided to sell or close after Shells acquisition of Pennzoil-Quaker State Co. a year ago. A spokesman told Lube Report that the company is on schedule to have all seven facilities closed by the end of this year. A plant in Vernon, Calif., stopped operating in June and is being redeployed as a distribut...