LONDON — With 32 million people and a large, modern vehicle fleet, the oil-rich Arab Gulf countries of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Bahrain and Qatar form a somewhat secluded lubricants market, largely served by a group of government-owned oil companies and multinationals. A rare glimpse inside the region’s lubricants market was provided recently by Samir Nawar, manager of production at Saudi Arabian Lubricating Oil Co. (Petromin Oils). Speaking at last month...

LONDON — “Naphthenic base oils have seen more change in the past three months — and even more in the past three weeks — than I’ve seen in years,” Tomas Wallin, chief executive of Nynas Naphthenics in Stockholm, Sweden, told the recent ICIS-LOR World Base Oils Conference here. Global naphthenic markets, already out of balance, could be rocky for years to come, he indicated. Announced closings of two naphthenic refineries — Shell’s Deer Park, Texas, ...

The decision by Shell Oil Products US to close its base oil refinery in Martinez, Calif., is causing big disruptions for users of the plant’s sodium sulfonates, especially in the metalworking fluids market. The plants closure, scheduled for the end of August, will eliminate the source of most of the emulsifiers used by metalworking fluid formulators. Fluid manufacturers and formulators are hurriedly searching for alternative solutions. Those in the market generally agree that the transitio...