The Independent Lubricant Manufacturers Association last week accused ExxonMobil of predatory pricing practices in its finished lubes business and said it will ask the federal government to intervene. The group said it will petition the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission to investigate ExxonMobils decision to raise lubricant prices only slightly over the past year, despite steep and steady increases in costs for base oils. Officials said the practice threatens the viability of in...

Departing from the stereotypical pattern of cross-border trade, a Mexican lubricant company has entered a long-term agreement to acquire a U.S. packager and distributor to improve its prospects for sales in Mexico and other foreign markets. Houston-based Cole Chemical Inc. announced recently that it has sold a 49 percent stake in its distribution operations, Cole Distribution Inc., to Vexa Group, of Monterrey, Mexico. The agreement calls for Vexa to acquire the rest of Cole Distribution over the...

Crude oil costs may have slipped in recent weeks, but chemical companies are still passing on price increases for materials used to make greases, hydraulic fluids and other lubricants. FMC Lithium, BASF and Crompton Corp.s Petroleum Additives business are among the latest to impose markups. FMC Lithium said Aug. 27 that its prices for lithium hydroxide will go up 7 percent on Oct. 1. Lithium hydroxide is used in the production of complex lithium greases and other products. The company, which is ...

BASF AG and Dow Chemical Co. announced last week that they plan to build a world-scale propylene oxide plant in Antwerp, Belgium. Scheduled to open in 2008, the facility will employ the Hydrogen Peroxide to Propylene Oxide technology that the companies developed together. Propylene oxide is used in production of polyglycols that go into synthetic lubricants, and in materials such as oilfield drilling chemicals, flame retardants, polyurethanes and antifreeze. The plant, to be built at an existing...