ExxonMobil has reached a new five-year agreement to supply finished lubricants to Caterpillar Inc., the companies announced last week. A private-label supplier to Caterpiller since 1987, ExxonMobil will be exclusive supplier of 30 types of lubes to Caterpillar factories and dealers around the world. The new contract covers lubricants for engines, transmissions, hydraulics and final drives. The companies said they worked together to develop the products, which carry the Caterpillar brand. Officia...

The U.S. lubricant industry is on edge this week, awaiting information about four base oil plants knocked offline by Hurricane Rita. Together the plants account for 42 percent of the nations paraffinic base oil capacity. With scant information about the plants status, observers said the industry will suffer widespread disruptions if the outages last beyond two more weeks. One operator, Citgo, declared force majeure, saying it currently cannot meet contractual obligations for base oils produced a...

Shells finished lubricant business in the United States moved quickly this week to squelch rumors that it had declared force majeure. Several industry sources told Lube Report that the company had filed notice that it was temporarily unable to meet contractual obligations, but a spokeswoman said Thursday that such statements were incorrect. The company, which does business as SOPUS Products, said it has imposed volume caps in response to disruptions that hurricanes Katrina and Rita have caused t...

Lubrizol Corp. said last week that it has sold Lubrizol Performance Systems to Dutch holding company Delft Instruments B.V. for an undisclosed amount. The unit, a supplier of blending and metering equipment, is the first of several non-core assets that Lubrizol plans to divest. The companies described Lubrizol Performance Systems as a leading producer and supplier of custom-engineered, explosion-proof precision blending and additive metering equipment for the petroleum industry. It has offices a...

Chemical companies continue to crank prices for materials used in the manufacture of lubricants. Several suppliers announced increases recently, with some saying they need better margins to help pay for new investments. One blamed its action in part on Hurricane Katrina. Chemtura Corp. said it will raise global prices on phenolic antioxidants by 18 percent on Oct. 1 and that it will impose worldwide markups of 70 cents per kilogram on phosphorus-based lube additives and fire-resistant fluids on ...