Volume 5 Issue 50

Calumet Wants IPO to Ease IOUs

Calumet Lubricants Co. is seeking government authorization to conduct its initial public stock offering in order to pay off high levels of debt run up by several years of expansion. If approved and completed, the sale would allow investors to take a 22.8 percent stake in the company, which would be renamed Calumet Specialty Products Partners L.P. According to documents submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in October and November, the company wants to continue growing both thr...

Naphthenics: Tight for 2 More Years

The worldwide market for naphthenic base oils is tight, with a slight deficit that should continue at least through 2007, according to Swedish refiner Nynas. A new refinery in China and upgrades by suppliers will help address the deficit, but as the price of naphthenics approaches or surpasses the price of paraffinic stocks, naps will no longer be used for non-key applications such as monograde engine oils. The changing price differential between naps and paraffinics is causing a shift of some n...

Cross Gets Deeper into Finished Lubes

Cross Oil Refining and Marketing Inc. is best known as one of a dwindling number of naphthenic base oil refiners. Over the past five years, however, the Smackover, Ark., company has built a significant niche in the finished lubricant industry. That niche will get a platform for further growth next year with a 40,000-square-foot expansion of its packaging facilities and additional blending capacity. The company said it is scheduled to install two high-speed filling lines – one for quarts, t...

Intertek Buying Spree Continues

Laboratory services provider Intertek Caleb Brett recently acquired marine lubricant analysis service LQS from Lloyds Register Group. It marked Interteks third acquisition in the lubricants testing industry in the past four months. The companies did not disclose terms of the transaction, which was announced Nov. 29. LQS conducts analysis of oils and greases to help ship operators assess the condition and maintenance needs of rotating equipment. Intertek Caleb Brett is a division of London-based ...