Crompton Corp. and Great Lakes Chemical Corp. finalized their $2 billion merger Friday. The new company, named Chemtura Corp., is the fourth-largest publicly traded specialty chemical company in the United States and one of the largest suppliers of chemicals used by the international lubricants industry. Chief Executive Officer Robert Wood rang the opening bell yesterday at the New York Stock Exchange, where the renamed company began trading underabbreviation CEM. Taking up Cromptons headquarter...

Texas-based oil jobber United Fuel and Energy Corp. said Thursday that it has acquired the petroleum marketing assets of Clark Oil Co., a fuels and lubricants distributor headquartered in Ada, Okla. United Fuel officials said the deal will allow the company to expand into southeast Oklahoma, where Clark serves the mining, quarry, agricultural and trucking industries. Clark sold approximately 800,000 gallons of lubes last year. United Fuel, which is located in Midland, Texas, wholesales fuels and...

Price hikes continue to wend their way through the lubricants industry, for key ingredients as well as finished products. Dow Chemical recently announced markups in Europe on polyalkylene glycol synthetic base stocks and in the United States for high-temperature thermal fluids. FMC Lithium announced increases for lithium salts, while BASF said it will raise biocide prices. Dows European subsidiary, Dow Europe GmbH, will raise prices on PAG synthetic lube base stocks by 10 percent, effective July...

Marathon Oil Corp. on Thursday completed its buyout of Ashland Inc.s stake in their Marathon Ashland Petroleum joint venture. The long-awaited $3.7 billion deal gives Marathon sole ownership of two plants that supply ingredients to the lubricants industry: the joint ventures base oil plant at Catlettsburg, Ky., and a maleic anhydride business that was solely owned by Ashland. Marathon also acquired 60 Valvoline Instant Oil Change centers in Michigan and northwestern Ohio. The transaction would s...

Throughout most of the world, ExxonMobil is recognized as the market leader when it comes to setting prices for lubricating base oils. But its role could be challenged over the next decade, according to a new study by an industry consultant. In announcing its study Thursday, Kline and Co. observed that construction of new base oil capacity in Asia/Pacific and the Middle East is helping to create a global market, with four main export supply centers, each focused on a different grade of oil. At t...