Shell Lubricants has started up a lubricants blending plant in China with 50 million gallons per year capacity to meet growing demand. With potential for phased development to 100 million gallons per year, it could become one of Shells top three blending plants worldwide in terms of volume. Shells other two largest blending plants by volume are in Houston, and in Grasbrook, Germany, according to Shell Lubricants spokeswoman Courtneye Barrett. Official ground breaking for the Zhuhai plant took p...

Martin Midstream Partners on Nov. 25 closed on its acquisition of specialty naphthenic lubricant processing assets from Cross Oil Refining and Marketing, paying $45 million in a stock transaction. The acquired assets consist mainly of a 7,500 barrel per day naphthenic base oil refinery in Smackover, Ark., that has more than 475,000 barrels of related storage capacity. Cross is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Martin Resource Management Corp., which also owns Kilgore, Texas-based Martin Midstreams g...

HOUSTON – A thousand trucking companies went out of business in 2008, and fuel costs were a major factor, a lubricant executive said. Replacing 15W-40 with synthetic 5W-40 diesel engine oil can help improve energy efficiency, but it can be a tough sell to fleet owners. I wouldnt use 5W-anything in my lawn mower, one fleet owner told me, Mark Betner, product manager for heavy duty lubricants with Citgo Petroleum Corp. in Houston, relayed to the National Petrochemical and Refiners Associati...

ExxonMobil Chemical on Monday announced availability of an additional 15,000 metric tons per year of high viscosity polyalphaolefins production to help the company meet growing demands for its PAO fluids. The additional production was achieved through a custom manufacturing agreement with Albemarle, ExxonMobil Chemical spokesman Jeff Neu told Lube Report. Baton Rouge, La.-based Albemarle develops, manufactures and markets specialty chemicals. Demand growth for HiVis PAO is strong in all region...

MOSCOW – Developing modern base oils, additives and engine lubes, along with adopting Western European oil testing standards, are major goals the Russian oil industry needs to achieve to become more competitive in the global lubricants market, a Russian oil refining research official said at the International Lubricants Russia 2009 Conference held here earlier this month. Oleg Tsvetkov, head of the oils department of All-Russian Research Institute of Oil Refining, offered a glimpse of how...

Cognis Functional Products business unit on Nov. 25 reported operating profit of 19 million (U.S. $28.7 million) in the third quarter, up almost 36 percent from 14 million in 2008s third quarter. The unit includes synthetic lubricants, mining technology, AgroSolutions and polymers, coatings and inks businesses. The improved performance reflects lower raw material costs, as well as an improved product mix focused on the green trend, and cost management which compensated demand shortage in key ma...

An assortment of international holidays put paid to most activity this week, with just the routes into Asia from the U.S. Gulf and Northwest Europe showing any strength. Most other trade lanes were steady but uninspiring. U.S. Gulf of Mexico In spite of it being only half a working week, the U.S. Gulf-to-Far East route managed to fill out an impressive number of additional ships that were introduced onto the route to help cope with demand. As expected, rates soared, with levels seen in the $70s...