The global marine lubricant market is mired in crisis, according to suppliers who say it is beset by skyrocketing costs and a shortage of chemical additives. One supplier said the possibility looms of ships being unable to have lubes delivered when they want them. Most lubricant blenders have been bludgeoned the past year and a half by skyrocketing base oil prices. Marine lubricant manufacturers say they have been among the hardest hit, however, because of they depend mostly on bright stock. Pos...

Shell Lubricants Pennzoil or Quaker State motor oils are listed as the house brand by 36 percent of smaller U.S. quick-lube operators, while Valvoline comes in second with 18 percent, according to a new study by National Oil & Lube News. Among larger operators Shell dominates; its Jiffy Lube, Pennzoil 10-Minute Oil Change and Shell Rapid Lube businesses together own or franchise nearly half the fast oil-change facilities in the category. More than 300 U.S. fast-lube operators, accounting for...

Dow Chemical Co. announced yesterday that its wholly owned subsidiary Union Carbide Corp. is again producing ethanolamines at its Hahnville, La., plant. The facility was shut down by hurricane Katrina. We are thankful that the ethanolamines production equipment was not impacted by the hurricane and that we were able to resume operations this week, said Ken Bromfield, marketing manager for Dow Ethanolamines. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, we expect to return to normal operations over the ...

Streicher Mobile Fueling Inc. announced last week that it has agreed to buy H&W Petroleum Co., a large lubricant distributor based in Houston, for approximately $6.3 million. The deal is the second lube-related acquisition this year for Streicher, which sees the industry as a springboard for growth. We believe there is an extraordinary growth opportunity in the lubricants industry, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Richard E. Gathright told Lube Report. Margins in lubricants are better th...

Angus Chemical Co. last week announced completion of an expansion at its Sterlington, La., plant to boost its output of several materials, including amino alcohols used in metalworking fluids. The company, a subsidiary of Dow Chemical Co., described the project as a multi-million dollar investment, but did not disclose the exact cost. It also declined to specify the capacity of the plant or size of the expansion. Based in Buffalo Grove, Ill., Angus makes nitroparaffins for a variety of industrie...