Base oil projects are queuing up to flood the global market with large volumes of highly refined stocks over the next several years. With demand flat, discussion about these projects frequently turns to speculation about which existing plants are most likely to close. Predictions generally point to facilities that make Group I oils. A U.S. consulting firm contends, however, that it is wrong to assume that only Group I producers will be closing. During an industry conference in Houston this month...

Chemical producer SQM has shipped its first load of lithium hydroxide from a new plant at Salar de Carmen, Chile, bringing a fresh source of supply to what company officials and others call a very tight market. Lithium hydroxide monohydrate is the key ingredient in making lithium soap greases, which account for 72 percent of lubricating greases worldwide. This is the largest lithium hydroxide plant in the world, as well as the first new plant on the global scene in about 20 years, according to S...

Oil costs may have retreated, but prices for chemicals used in lubricants continue to rise. Troy Corp., Chemtura and Suprestra all announced increases during the past month. Troy said it will impose increases of up to 10 percent worldwide Jan. 1 on a variety of products used in lubricants and other applications. They include surfactants sold under the Troysol brand, dispersants sold under the Troysperse brand, Troykyd defoamers and rheology modifiers that carry the Troythix label. Separately, th...

BASF this month opened a new plant in Ludwigshafen, Germany, with capacity to make 15,000 metric tons of isopropanolamines per year. Among other applications, isopropanolamines are used in industrial lubricants to inhibit corrosion. The chemical giant, which is based in Ludwigshafen, said the new plant replaces an older facility, but it declined to disclose the latters capacity or even to indicate which plant was bigger. Management did say that the new plant uses an improved process that allows ...