Beware Cross-Border Motor Oil Mischief
A U.S. distributor was bilked out of motor oils valued at nearly $100,000, shipped to a Canadian warehouse, when the Montreal buyer declined to pay and then virtually disappeared. Canadian police are on the case, and warn that similar cross-border commodity scams are on the rise in Montreal.
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Essar Eyes Shell Refineries
Royal Dutch Shell said Friday that its efforts to sell two German refineries and a third in the United Kingdom have narrowed and that it is now negotiating with a single potential buyer, Indian conglomerate Essar. Two of the refineries have base oils plants – one in Harburg, Germany, the other in Stanlow, U.K.
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Lubrizol, Valvoline Up; SK Down
Lubrizol’s additives segment and Ashland’s Valvoline division reported lower sales but hefty increases in operating income for the quarter ending Sept. 30, while the lubricant division at SK Energy saw a decline in both, compared to the year-ago quarter.
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Petromin Upgrades Its Blending
Saudi Arabia’s Petromin Corp. has announced a new 100 million riyals (U.S. $26.7 million), 250,000 metric tons per year capacity blending plant, which is expected to go on stream in the second quarter of 2010.
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Iranian Market Has Room to Grow
Despite international trade sanctions on Iran, the lubes market in the country remains substantial and ripe for development.
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U.S. Base Oil Price Report
With crude and feedstock values hovering at high levels, most market players anticipated a barrage of paraffinic price increases in the U.S. market this week. The surprise was that just one paraffinic producer, Calumet, stepped out with hikes of 30 cents per gallon for its postings, following Valero’s initiative last week.
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Europe-MidEast-Africa Base Oil Price Report
A muted base oil market this week, the EMEA region expected to witness a raft of increased base oil prices, but this does not appear to have occurred.
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SSY Base Oil Shipping Report
Contractual business from the Americas is beginning to increase, although spot volumes remain depressed. Europe is totally flat, while Asian domestic markets are slowly seeing some growth, but with rates unchanged.
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Publisher's Note: Base Oil Prices, Your Way
Now it’s easier to track base oil prices to meet your own needs. Lube Report’s weekly U.S. posted prices, from January 2004 to the present, are available in Excel file format at www.BaseOilPrices.com.
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