Adnoc did not reply to a question about the accuracy of the story. If the IPO goes ahead, however, it will be the first time that a national oil company in the Gulf region has opened its retail business to outside investment.

Adnoc Distribution owns lubricant blending and packaging operations and markets lubes both within the United Arab Emirates and internationally. Analysts say the company is well positioned to take advantage of the API Group II and III base oil plant operated by refining subsidiary Takreer in Ruwais, UAE.

The plant began production in 2016 and replace with: has capacity of 100,000 metric tons of Group II and 500,000 metric tons per year of Group III. Approximately 50,000 metric tons per year of the total is earmarked for lubricant blending by Adnoc Distribution, according to previous data.

Pakistan Authorities Shut Lube Plant

The Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA), the countrys national standards enforcer, in September seized a unit of Golden Lubricants for production of engine oil without a proper permit, an official said.

The company was producing lubricants illegally without a license from PSQCA. It wasnt complying with our certification requirements, Javaid Siddique, PSQCAs deputy director of conformity assessment in the south, told a reporter.

Siddique said the action was taken at the companys depot in Multan with support of local police and a PSQCA team. We checked the [lubricant] quality in our laboratory and sealed the factory depot, he said.

Golden Lubricants is a subsidiary of UAE-based Sharjah Lubes International Engine Lubricating, and was found to be involved in illegal production, local media reported. Pakistan requires licenses for the manufacture of lubricants. The company has since applied for a license and PSQCA is processing it, Siddique said.

UK Lube Verifiers Hear 50th Complaint

September 6 was a landmark in the short history of Verification of Lubricant Specifications (VLS), an independent United Kingdom-based testing organization, when it opened an investigation into its 50th product complaint.

Yearly demand for lubricants in the United Kingdom is 478,799 metric tons, of which automotive is a sizeable proportion. VLSs technical review panel looks at aftermarket products sold by new entrants, often with contentious low-temperature performance claims. The 50th case was an auto engine oil that could fail to live up to its stated specifications.

A group of lubricant blenders and manufacturers that form the United Kingdom Lubricants Association established VLS in 2013 amid concerns that a small quantity of lubricants sold in the country failed to comply with cold weather specifications, formal original equipment manufacturer approvals and industry standards.

This latest case is a significant step for VLS. It demonstrates our continued commitment to ensuring the confidence of our end users in the lubricants sold in a sector that places quality at its very heart, said VLS company secretary David Wright in a press statement.

In the past, VLS reviewed complaints about auto engine, gear and tractor oils, as well as central hydraulic fluids.

REACH Registration Discounts for Small Fry Chemicals Companies

Fee reductions of up to 95 percent are available to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that register their substances as part of the European REACH regulations, but they have to prove their size.

Companies must submit evidence by a set deadline in their registration dossiers pertaining to their operational size to REACH-IT, the European Chemicals Agencys (EHCA) registration portal, for a calculation of their fees category.

There is a backlog of dossiers and the ECHA is currently assessing SME claimants from 2013 to 2015. Of those submitted before 2013, only 18 percent were found to be entitled to a reduction.

Lukoil Grows its Marine Oil Business

Russian lubricant marketer Lukoil expects to increase its share in the global marine oil market after signing supply contracts with several heavyweight shipping companies. The company aims to capture 12 percent of the market this year, up from 10 percent in 2016, said Victor Zhuravskiy, head of Lukoils marine lubricants subdivision.

The current pace of business growth will allow us to position ourselves as the fourth-largest marine oil supplier in the world, Zhuravskiy said in a recent news release.

Kline & Co. consultancy estimated that global marine oil demand was 2.3 million metric tons in 2016.

In the first half of 2017, Lukoil Marine Lubricants signed a contract with United Arab Shipping Co. to ship products for 17 high-tonnage vessels operated by UASC. UASC has 185 offices around the world and hauls freight to 275 ports.

Lukoil also began working with Bahri Ship Management and Arab Maritime Petroleum Transport in the first half of 2017. We started to supply Bahris 10 vessels and AMPTs six icebreakers that now all use our products, he said.

Other customers that started business with the Russian supplier in the first half of 2017 are the United Kingdom-based companies Lomar Shipping and Blystad Group, as well as Japans Mitsui OSK Lines.

The challenge that the marine lubricant market is currently facing is the increased prices of base oils and additives. Furthermore, the supply of [API] Group I base oil is limited, and the market reacts by moving toward Group II base oil, Zhuravskiy said. Group II base oil, however, requires additional additives to maintain the same asphaltene handling properties as Group I base oil, and lubricant suppliers following this trend may have to reformulate their products.

Oxea Gets Halal Certificate

Global chemicals company Oxea started shipping its new product Pelargonic Acid Halal after it got the thumbs up from Islamic Services of America in September 2017. The production plant line and logistics terminal in Bay City, Texas, were certified for rigorous guidelines to ensure that along the entire value chain its raw materials, manufacturing processes, handling and logistics strictly comply with Islamic religious requirements.

Oxeas product is a less expensive
alternative to caprylic C8 and C10 fatty acids commonly found in animal milk and which are used as intermediates the production of esters found in end products such as dyes and perfumes.

With our new Pelargonic Acid Halal, we address the growing needs
of our Islamic customers for Halal certified alternatives to C8/C10 fatty acids. We make it easier for them to certify their manufacturing processes. This is important because the concept of Halal (pure) applies not just to the food consumed by Muslims but also to the entire production process, down to even remotely associated suppliers and components, Christoph Balzarek, commercial business director of carboxylic acids at Oxea, in a statement.