Additives J.V. Starts Producing
BRB International announced Monday start-up of manufacturing at its joint venture with SWD Lubricants GmbH – a Duisburg, Germany, plant that will dissolve BRB viscosity modifiers into base oil diluent.
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Recession Takes Bite Out of Lubes
Global lubricant consumption is expected to experience a 9 percent average annual decline between 2007 and 2009, but should return to 2007 levels by 2012, consultancy Kline and Co. projects in a recent study about the global recession's impact on the lubricants industry.
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Shell to Expand GTL Wax Plant
Shell in Malaysia has invested in a wax plant expansion project at its gas-to-liquids plant in Bintulu. Media reports have estimated the investment at 319 million Malaysia Ringgits (U.S. $90 million).
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Rerefining Could Get Another U.S. Player
Heritage-Crystal Clean has begun exploring entry into the used lubricating oil rerefining business, saying it plans to spend up to $5 million on the initiative during the next year.
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Dow, BASF, Kraton Step Up Prices
Dow increased prices for oxygenated solvents, while BASF raised prices for intermediates used in manufacturing lubricants and Kraton Polymers announced price hikes for polymers used in lubricants.
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Untangle the Synthetic Lube Puzzle
To solve the world's thorniest lubrication problems, formulators often turn to the tailor-made chemistries known as unconventional base stocks. Lubes'n'Greases has updated and published its 2009 Nonconventional Base Stocks Guide, which provides a unique perspective on these fluids and their suppliers.
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U.S. Base Oil Price Report
There were no big surprises in the U.S. base oil market this week. Thin participation alongside slow activity is typical following Labor Day, which marks the end of the summer vacation period.
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Europe-MidEast-Africa Base Oil Price Report
Although this is a base oil report for the EMEA region, having dwelt last week on the disparity between crude oil and refined products, and the effect on base oil feedstocks, someone somewhere must have been listening, since marker crudes had posted lower during this week by as much as $4 per barrel to $5/bbl.
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SSY Base Oil Shipping Report
It has been a very sedentary market over the past week or two. Europe is flat with a wide selection of ships available in most directions. The U.S. Gulf of Mexico is slow too with rates dipping on a couple of routes. Asian rates too are reported to be under downwards pressure.
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