French oil major Total has named T. Gargour & Fils as sole distributor of its Elf brand of lubricants in Jordan. A signing ceremony announcing the partnership was held in Amman, Jordan, on July 9. Our aim is to build successful partnerships and alliances with local entities, in addition to bringing economic and social benefits to the countries that we operate within, said Francois de Ligniville, Total Refining and Marketings executive vice president, Mediterranean & Middle East. Alth...

Chevron Products Co. and H&W Petroleum Co. have inked their second multi-year lubricants marketing agreement, under which H&W will add Chevron-brand lubricants to its portfolio, which already includes Texaco brands. A wholly-owned subsidiary of SMF Energy Corp., Houston-based H&W Petroleum claims to be one of the largest lubricant distributors in the U.S with over one million gallons of bulk product storage. H&W markets a full line of petroleum products including Texaco and ...

Russian petroleum giant Lukoil established a big foothold in Turkey this week by acquiring Akpet, a large wholesaler of oil products. The deal, reportedly valued at U.S. $500 million, gives Lukoil control of a lubricant blending and packaging plant in Izmir, Turkey. For Lukoil, the transaction appears motivated primarily by the opportunity to increase fuel sales in one of the regions largest markets. Acquisition of large retail assets in Turkey expands Lukoils international retail network by 18 ...

Cognis is selling its 50 percent stake in the Cognis Oleochemicals joint venture to PTT Chemical International Private Ltd. for 104 million (U.S. $162 million) in cash. The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of September, pending closing conditions and regulatory approvals. PTT is a Singapore-based subsidiary of PTT Chemical Public Co. Ltd., a Bangkok, Thailand-based company that produces olefins and associated products. Cognis Oleochemicals will continue to operate under its cur...

South Korean base oil refiner SK Energy reported an increase in operating profit for its lubricants segment for the quarter ending June 30, while refiner S-Oil reported a decline compared to the second quarter of 2007. Each company recorded growth in lubricants revenue for the quarter compared to year-earlier figures. Seoul-based SK Energys lubricants division reported an 86 percent increase in operating income for the three months ending June 30, to 81 billion won ($80.4 million), up from 43.5 ...

The quarter ending June 30 saw a decline in operating income at lubricant blender Valvoline compared to the year-earlier period, while sales and operating revenues increased. Valvoline parent company Ashland said the lube blender reported operating income of $26.1 million for the three months ending June 30 – the third quarter of Ashlands 2008 fiscal year – down 6 percent from $27.9 million in the year-earlier period. Valvolines sales and operating revenues for the quarter increased ...

The Lubrizol Corp. will close its Niagara Falls, Ontario, additives blending, packaging and warehouse facility because of low toll processing volumes and a cost structure considered too high. The company expects operations at the facility to end on June 30, 2009. Lubrizol spokeswoman Julie Young told Lube Report the Niagara Falls facility sits on 22 acres. The types of additives we blend there are transformer oil, finished motor oil and passenger car heavy duty, Young said. Over the coming mo...

RohMax, maker of Viscoplex-branded additives, yesterday opened its 10 million (U.S. $15.6 million) manufacturing facility on Jurong Island in Singapore. The lubricant additives plant is the companys first in Asia, where the automotive lubricants market is expanding fast. Headquartered in Darmstadt, Germany, RohMax is a subsidiary of Essen, Germany-based Evonik Industries AG. RohMax first broke ground on the project in May 2007, and expected to employ about 30 to 40 people at the plant. The newfa...

Royal Dutch Shell PLC and Exxon Mobil Corp. have decided against selling Infineum International Ltd., the additives joint venture formed in 1999 through teaming up of the two companies additives divisions. ExxonMobil Chemical and Shell Chemicals previously announced that they were reviewing strategic options for the Infineum additives joint venture, Shell said in a statement provided yesterday to Lube Report. The companies confirm that this has been completed, and the conclusion from this study ...