Chemcentral Corp. has agreed to pay a total of more than $470,000 to the Environmental Protection Agency and to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in fines and reimbursement costs related to a fire and explosion Feb. 7, 2007, at the companys distributor facility in Kansas City, Mo.EPA said the fire occurred when workers were transferring Indopol brand polybutene, an additive used in lubricants. The sites future is still up in the air, while Chemcentral participates in a Missouri D...

Base oil production in the United States slipped 2.5 percent from 2006 to 2007, according to data released Monday by the Department of Energys Energy Information Administration. U.S. refiners produced 65.1 million barrels of base oil last year, down from 66.8 million barrels a year earlier. Paraffinic production fell 2.7 percent to 54.7 million barrels, while naphthenic production decreased 1.5 percent to 10.4 million barrels. On the paraffinic side, the biggest drop in production occurred duri...

For the third time since 2005, Chemtura is shuffling executives and responsibilities in its Petroleum Additives segment. The appointments are said to sharpen the focus on three key lubricant markets: automotive, industrial and refrigeration. The Middlebury, Conn.-headquartered chemical company, which had 2007 revenues of $3.7 billion, this week said that Sean O’Connor has been named vice president, Petroleum Additives, filling a vacancy left by the promotion of Robert Wedinger. Wedinger ha...

Oleon has started a new distillation tower at its fatty acid plant in Ertvelde, Belgium, a year after a fire destroyed part of the plants main distillation unit. The company has also begun construction of a lubricants ester plant in Malaysia as its first foray into the growing Asia-Pacific market. Managing director Chris Depreeuw said Oleon is entering the Asia-Pacific market, where it has invested 15 million ($22.8 million) towards a new 25,000 metric tons per year plant. At this moment, we are...

Lubricant supplier Quaker Chemical reported strong results for the quarter ending Dec. 31, and for the year 2007. Consoshocken, Pa.-based Quaker Chemical on Feb. 26 reported net income of $4.6 million for the fourth quarter, up 53.3 percent from $3 million in the year-earlier period. Fourth-quarter sales reached $142.4 million, up 23.2 percent from $115.5 million in 2006s fourth quarter. For the full year, Quaker Chemical posted net income of $15.5 million, up 32.4 percent from $11.7 million in ...

BASF announced an increase in prices for two types of carboxylic acids that are used as intermediates in lubricants and solvents, while Kraton Polymers said it would raise prices on SBS-based polymers and compounds in the North American market. Ludwigshafen, Germany-based BASF on Thursday said that effective immediately, or as existing contracts permit, it will raise prices for 2-ethylhexanoic acid (2-EHA) and propionic acid in Europe by 40 (U.S. $60.86) per metric ton. The company produces 2-...