Factors such as a program seeking to substitute Lukoils lubricants for imported products and a favorable market environment helped drive LLKs production and distribution growth, Lukoil said in its annual report. Developing the product mix in line with the latest requirements became a priority. In 2016, we developed 50 new lubricant grades and changed the formula of 60 products. The product mix was expanded to 700 items, said a representative, adding that the company began producing premium lubricating coolants for the metal processing industry.

Lukoil broke ground last year on a 100,000-ton-per-year lubricant blending plant in Almaty, southeast Kazakhstan. The plant, scheduled to go online in 2018, will supply Central Asian and Chinese markets.

Penthol to Distribute Adnoc Group IIIs

Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. announced that it has appointed Penthol as the exclusive seller of the companys API Group III base oil into the United States. Adnoc produces up to 500,000 metric tons per year of Group III base oil through Takreer, the Abu Dhabi Oil Refining Co.

Abdulla Salem Al Dhaheri, marketing, sales and trading director, said, We aim to capitalize on Adnocs long-established reputation for high quality products to market Adnoc base oil to leading lubricant makers in the U.S. and worldwide. The U.S. is one of the worlds largest importing markets of Group III base oils and we are, therefore, excited to work with Penthol to deliver our high-quality product into an important global market.

Check Biocide Authorization Deadlines

ECHA has published a list of active substance and product-type combinations for which a Union authorization should be applied in 2018. Check the deadlines and apply in time to keep your product on the market.

You should apply for product authorization to keep existing products on the market if they contain the active substances for which legal deadlines happen in that year. A convenient way to make the product authorization applications is to use Union authorization.

Union authorization allows you to place a biocidal product on the market throughout the entire EU, without needing a specific national authorization. It is designed for products that have similar conditions of use across the EU.

ECHA recommends making a presubmission at least six months before submitting a Union authorization application. This free-of-charge consultation by the Member States provides useful information on the chances of success for your application and helps identify potential issues to be addressed.

Puraglobe to Begin Making Group III

Puraglobe announced it would begin producing API Group III base oils in June as the upgrade to its Troeglitz, Germany, rerefinery was completed. The facility, which previously produced only Group II oils, has capacity to produce 50,000 metric tons per year of Group III. With this start-up we will have converted 50 percent of our production from Group II+ into Group III, explained Puraglobes Chief Executive Officer and President Andreas Schueppel in an interview.

Frankfurt, Germany-based Puraglobe will continue its efforts to produce Group III through its U.S. joint venture, Puraglobe Florida, with U.S. rerefiner NexLube Tampa. The JV will complete NexLubes Group III rerefinery in Florida by the end of next year.

Bag-in-Box Containers to Expand

A growing trend in the global bag-in-box containers market is the growing thrust by a large number of players on capacity expansion, while trying to conquer new markets in different regions, states a research study by Transparency Market Research. Manufacturers are adding new features to containers such as changeable liner bags and aseptic liner bags. Options such as a sight glass, which allows the user to check the contents and filling levels and dropside packages have also been introduced in the market, according to the report.

Europe is a market leader for bag-in-box containers in terms of revenue. Latin America is predicted to outstrip all other regions by posting a compound annual growth rate of 8.0 percent, the study found.

The report cautions, however, that the market could be affected by competitive alternate products such as cubitainers. The advantages of cubitainers over conventional bag-in-box containers are many, which poses a severe threat to the bag-in-box containers market, elaborates the analyst of the report.

Another factor restraining the market is the additional equipment costs associated with bag-in-box packaging. This could hamper their uptake in several end-use industries, particularly those in the developing countries of the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific.

Omnia Group to Acquire Umongo

South Africas Omnia Group (Pty) Ltd. has agreed to acquire 90 percent of the shares of Umongo Petroleum (Pty) Ltd. for U.S. $58.19 million from Lubricant Additives Solutions and Technology (Mauritius). Umongo distributes petroleum additives, base oils and related petroleum, oil and lubricant products in South Africa and sub-Saharan Africa.

The remaining 10 percent of Umongos shares will continue to be held by Autumn Storm, an entity in which the current Chief Executive Officer, Boston Moonsamy, is a shareholder. Moonsamy will continue as CEO of Umongo for five years.

Following approval of the transaction by various competition law authorities, including the South African Competition Authorities, Umongo Petroleum will become a subsidiary of Omnia and report under the Chemicals division in the consolidated results. Umongo Petroleum will continue to operate as a separate stand-alone entity within Omnia.

Umongo, based near Durban, South Africa, operates a fully outsourced supply chain and logistics business model, using accredited storage facilities, transporters and other related service providers to import, store, process and deliver raw materials and finished products to customers.