From the day it’s refined until it’s blended into a finished lubricant, base oil exists in an unhappy limbo state, parked in the refinery’s bulk liquid tanks and on its books. In recent years however, base oil storage capacity at U.S. refineries has shrunk by more than 20 percent. That helped to trim inventory and capital costs — and also left the industry more sensitive to supply disruptions, some refining officials suggest. According to data compiled by the U.S. Energy ...

Coping with rising raw material costs loomed large in second quarter performance for several companies in the lubricant industry. Lubrizols lube additives business posted a 17 percent gain in operating income, thanks in part to price hikes for its own products. Meanwhile, raw material costs were blamed for lower earnings at Afton Chemical, Quaker Chemical and Milacrons Industrial Fluids segment. Lubrizols Lubricant Additives segment recorded operating income of $85.2 million for the three months...

Pine chemical supplier Arizona Chemical and six other businesses are targeted for possible sale or spin-off as part of a major restructuring to improve returns and reduce debt, parent company International Paper announced last month. Arizona Chemical was put up for sale in 2000 as part of an earlier restructuring, but was taken off the table in 2002. IP expects its evaluation of Arizona Chemical and the other businesses slated for divestment to be completed by the first quarter of 2006. Arizona,...

Parc Technical Services Inc. was acquiredby Intertek Caleb Brett, a leading provider of laboratory services to the oil and refining industries, the companies announced on Monday.Parc provides testing for refining processes and for automotive lubricants and fuels. Intertek officials said they are especially attracted to the former part of Parcs business, provided through pilot plants that perform atmospheric and vacuum crude oil distillation, fluid catalytic cracking, hydrotreating and solvent de...