Sri Lanka is taking steps to liberalize the countrys lubricant industry, and that bodes increased competition for market leader Caltex Lanka Ltd. The Public Enterprise Reform Commission in July invited bids for new licenses to sell lubricants within the South Asia nation. In addition, the governments Petroleum Ministry is developing a proposal to amend the tariff structure so that imported products have less of a disadvantage to lubes blended domestically. Caltex Lanka, in which Chevron owns a ...

Pinnacle Oil said recently that it has reached an agreement to contract-blend automotive and industrial lubricants for Marathon Oil Corp. Pinnacle had the contract previously but lost it for several years to Ashland Inc.s Valvoline. According to the agreement, Pinnacle will supply lubricants marketed under the Marathon, Speedway, SuperAmerica and Pilot brands. Marathon supplies a full line of automotive and industrial lubricants to dealers and jobbers that carry Marathon fuels. Speedway and Supe...

Two more U.S. oil majors announced price hikes for finished lubricants during the past week. Chevron and ConocoPhillips plan to impose markups ranging from 3 percent to 10 percent and 5 percent to 9 percent, respectively, joining a round of increases triggered by ExxonMobils announcement two weeks ago. In an Aug. 30 letter obtained by Lube Report, Chevron told distributors it will raise prices for lubricating oils by an average of 6 percent to 10 percent and those on gear lubes and greases by an...