Volume 9 Issue 26

SK Aims to Stay No. 1 in Group III

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Koreas SK Energy plans to double its production of high-quality API Group III base oils to 48,000 barrels per day, opening two new plants in 2012 and 2014 in Europe, South Asia and/or East Asia. Jay Kim, senior marketing manager with Seoul-based SK Energy, told the ICIS Asian Base Oils & Lubricants Conference here last week that SK expects Group III base oil demand to drop 30 percent worldwide this year, compared to 2008, as a result of the recession. But be...

N.C. Bans Filter Disposal

As of Oct. 1 this year, used oil filters in North Carolina can no longer go in the trash. The law applies to oil filters changed by commercial oil change shops and garages, as well as by individuals. The North Carolina General Assembly enacted House Bill 1465 in 2005, adding oil filters to the list of items banned from landfill disposal. The state said setting the October 2009 deadline aimed to allow private garages, oil change companies and fleet managers time to assess their service needs and...

No Crash in China, Just Slower Growth

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – While lubricant and base oil demand collapsed in most of the world, Chinas appetite for oils keeps climbing. Expect finished lube demand to rise 2 percent in 2009 over last years 5.7 million ton demand, and soar to 7.3 million tons by 2015, a Petrochina expert said. Kong Jinyuan, senior engineer and vice director of oils research in the marketing department of the Beijing-based Petrochina Planning & Engineering Institute, identified trends and forecast base o...

Court OKs Milacron Sale

A bankruptcy court in Cincinnati approved the sale of Milacrons assets to a group of existing investors for an estimated $175 million on Friday, with completion of the sale expected in July. The company has been in Chapter 11 bankruptcy since March. On May 3, Milacron signed a definitive agreement to sell substantially all of its assets to an investors group consisting of Avenue Capital Group, DDJ Capital Management LLC and certain other entities that together hold about 93 percent of Milacrons...

More Chemical Price Hikes

Pilot Chemical and BASF each announced price increases for chemicals used in manufacturing of metalworking fluids and lubricants, Dow raised prices on a variety of surfactants and polyethylene glycols, and Lanxess upped prices for its entire line of basic chemicals. Lanxess basic chemicals business on Thursday said it will increase its prices worldwide immediately for its entire product portfolio by a minimum of7 percent. Its main product groups include chlorobenzenes, chlorotoluenes and cresol...

SSY Base Oil Shipping Report

Is the summer lull about to begin? The United States is fairly robust, but more ships are beginning to show up in July. Europe has been quiet on the coastal markets, with deep-sea more or less unchanged. Asia has seen some export business, but there are still way too many ships open in the region. U.S. Gulf of Mexico Looking at the overall tonnage supply, the U.S. market is very tight on prompt space. Of course, there are always one or two ships on most routes that have the occasional tank, bu...