Solutia Inc. recently said it would raise prices on its aviation hydraulic fluids, and Oxea announced an increase in prices on a polyalcohol used in synthetic lubricants. St. Louis-based Solutia on July 11 announced a global price increase of up to 30 percent on its full line of Skydrol aviation hydraulic fluids effective with orders shipped on or after July 26, for all non-contract customers and where contracts allow. The increase will vary by product, packaging, world area and currency of sale...

Oil products marketer Petroser said last week it is nearing completion of a lubricant blending plant being built in partnership with BP in Western Algeria. A Petroser official said the companies undertook the project to take advantage of steady growth in one of North Africas biggest lubricant markets. Currently, and for a number of years, the Algerian market is experiencing significant development, and demand is increasing every year, said Baghdad Aoued, director for lubricants. Aoued told Lube ...

Trico Corp. has acquired Predict USA, an Ohio-based provider of used lubricant analysis, wear particle analysis (ferrography), vibration analysis, ultrasonic testing and thermography, in effort to boost its lubrication management services. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Under the deal, Valley View, Ohio-based Predict will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Trico. Predicts main laboratory in Cleveland, and two smaller laboratories in Pewaukee, Wis., and Toronto, Canada, will come u...

KUALA LUMPUR – Chinas annual demand for base oils will jump 15 percent from 2007 to 2008, to more than 6.6 million metric tons, and will top 8.3 million tons in 2011. But domestic supply will lag, and the gap will be filled by a sharp increase in the flow of imports, an industry expert predicts. Shen Ping, general manager of C1 Energy Ltd., a division of Shanghai-based CBI China, told the ICIS Asian Base Oils & Lubricants Conference here in June that base oil is a shining star among p...

Afton Chemical Corp. will open a new research and development facility near Shanghai by the end of this year, to speed up turn-around time and better serve customers in the Asia-Pacific region. The 1,000 square meter facility will include nine fully equipped laboratories for analytical development and testing, Marshall Nelson, vice president for research and development at Aftons Richmond, Va., headquarters, told Lube Report. The new R&D center will be located in Zizhu Science-based Indust...

The Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice is investigatingthe automotive oil filter industry on charges of price fixing, bid rigging and allocation of customers. Honeywell International, maker of Fram filters, confirmed that its employees, and others, have received subpoenas. Honeywell, of Morristown, N.J., disclosed the DOJ investigation in its July 18 Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Honeywell indicated that the investigation is based on allegations raised in a class a...