A Springfield, Tenn., oil jobber announced last month that it has purchased a lubricant distribution center outside of Nashville from Shell Oil Co. Hollingsworth Oil Co. said the acquisition significantly increases the size of its lubes business and that it looks to expand further in the future. This particular acquisition is a great complement to our existing operations, and it gives us a tremendous amount of additional business, Sales Manager Tom Griffin told Lube Report yesterday. We will be...

The long-awaited return of ExxonMobils Beaumont, Texas, base oil plant suffered another setback last week when the company was apparently unable to complete a planned start-up. Instead, market sources said, it tightened allocations and told customers that production should resume by next week. A Jan. 5 letter to customers, obtained by Lube Report, stated that orders across a slate of Group I stocks – from viscosities of 100 to 600 S.U.S – will be limited to between 50 percent and 100...

Petro-Canadas base oil plant in Mississauga, Ontario, is operating at half capacity after a weekend fire knocked out one of two production trains, the company said yesterday. A spokesman said the incident is still under investigation and that a schedule for returning to normal operations has not been set. The fire broke out at approximately 12:30 Saturday afternoon and was quickly brought under control, the company said. A statement issued Monday did not pinpoint the location of the fire and sai...

In a sign that North Americas lubricants industry is recovering from supply chain disruptions that buffeted it last year, major oil companies that imposed allocations on finished lubes have recently lifted or are in the process of lifting nearly all of those caps. Overall, I think the finished lube market is generally getting back to normal, Citgo General Manager for Lubricants Paul C. Rudolph told Lube Report yesterday. At the same time, industry sources said they are bracing for new strains af...