Chemical Specialties (Singapore) Ptd Ltd. has begun construction of a specialty chemical contract manufacturing facility on the Jurong Island chemical complex in Singapore, with its first phase scheduled to open in the fourth quarter of this year. CSL was formed by a joint venture of individuals with experience in specialty chemical contract manufacturing operations working with acustomer base including major marketing companies in the petrochemical, chemical and pharmaceutical industries. It h...

Calumet Specialty Products Partners LP reported net income of $31.5 million for the quarter ending Dec. 31, down slightly from $32.1 million for the same period in 2005. Sales revenue for the quarter fell six percent to $369 million. Net income for the year reached $93.9 million last year, compared to $11.3 million for 2005. Calumet registered for an initial public offering as a limited partnership in October 2005 to pay off high levels of debt run up by several years of expansion. Its stock beg...

LONDON – Global refining trends are increasing the draw for oil companies to enter the base oil market, an industry consultant said here Thursday. Blake T. Eskew of Purvin and Gertz Inc. told the ICIS World Base Oils Conference that a shift toward hydrocracking processes will lead to construction of more Group III base oil plants. He predicted that some of the new plants will be built in Europe, which has struggled recently to meet its demands for highly refined stocks. I expect well have ...

Whelan Refining Ltd. said it plans to reopen a refurbished base oil rerefinery in May 2007 in northwest England. The Whelan rerefinerywill process an estimated 50,000 metric tons of waste oil to produce about 35,000 metric tons annually of Group I base oils for sale to the lubricant manufacturing industry. Managing Director John Whelan told Lube Report the rerefinery will use a three-stage distillation process that doesnt use proprietary technology. Its just the application of well-proven chemic...

LONDON — Chevron announced last week that it will begin supplying Europe with all viscosity grades of API Group II base oil from its plant in Richmond, Calif., by mid-year 2007. Supplying base oils to blenders of heavy duty engine oils meeting the new ACEA E9 specification coming in 2008 is the major goal for the undertaking. Victor Keppens of Chevron Technology in Gent, Belgium, made the announcement at the ICIS World Base Oils Conference here on Feb. 15. Chevrons disclosure parallels the...