Mark Townsend

MarkTownsend@lng.com

Recent Articles

Iran Base Oil Exports Bypass U.A.E.

Iran Base Oil Exports Bypass U.A.E.

Iranian companies are shipping API Group I base oils direct to customers, sidestepping ports in the United Arab Emirates …

PIB Plant Planned in Saudi Arabia

PIB Plant Planned in Saudi Arabia

South Korea’s Daelim Industrial will build an 80,000 tons per year polyisobutene plant in Jubail, Saudi Arabia, that is …

Waivers Throw a Lifeline to Irans Base Oil Exports

Waivers Throw a Lifeline to Irans Base Oil Exports

The Islamic Republic is a key supplier to its regions Group I and crude markets. Will fresh sanctions undermine that pos …

Waivers Give Reprieve to Iranian Base Oils

Waivers Give Reprieve to Iranian Base Oils

Iran’s place in global API Group I base oil markets is proving surprisingly resilient despite last month’s snap-back of …

Finding the Trend in Middle East Engine Oil Markets

Finding the Trend in Middle East Engine Oil Markets

Unearthing data on oil markets is challenging, and gathering facts and figures about the Middle Easts shift to higher-gr …

Middle East Refiners Disrupt Group III Markets

Middle East Refiners Disrupt Group III Markets

New competition from Middle East Gulf refiners is disrupting the status quo, increasingly impacting API Group III base o …

China Remains Large Base Oil Importer

China Remains Large Base Oil Importer

China is one of the worlds largest importers of base oils, and that looks unlikely to change as its finished lubricant m …

Middle East Falls in with Global Trends

Middle East Falls in with Global Trends

A recent analysis of the Middle East base stocks scene found the region increasingly mirrors trends in developed economi …

Some Predict Cloaking of Iranian Shipments

Some Predict Cloaking of Iranian Shipments

Iran’s refined oil products are scheduled to become subject to new sanctions Nov. 4 when the United States imposes addit …

Sepahan to Upgrade Base Oil, Wax Production

Sepahan to Upgrade Base Oil, Wax Production

Sepahan Oil Co., Irans largest base oil refiner, signed a contract with Germanys EDL Anlagenbau GmbH to upgrade base oil …

Iranian Exports Between Sanctions

Iranian Exports Between Sanctions

When the United States reinstates sanctions on Irans oil industry in November, close to U.S. $47 billion of exports are …

Middle East Slowly Shifts to Better Motor Oils

Middle East Slowly Shifts to Better Motor Oils

Despite being the source of much of the worlds crude, the Middle East is a minor lubricants market – one characterized b …

Middle East Lubes Still Promising

Middle East Lubes Still Promising

Worries about the Middle East finished lubricants market have dominated recent news headlines, but according to one indu …

Iraqi Base Oils Still Struggle

Iraqi Base Oils Still Struggle

Its been nine months since Iraqs central government declared victory over the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or I …

Middle East Slowly Shifts to Better Motor Oils

Middle East Slowly Shifts to Better Motor Oils

The Middle East is transitioning to higher quality lubricants but at a slower pace than previously thought as recent res …

Deal Brings Oman’s Lubes to Kenya

Deal Brings Oman’s Lubes to Kenya

Oman Trading International, a subsidiary of Oman Oil Marketing Co., inked an agreement with Kenyas Hass Petroleum to sel …

Renewed Sanctions Loom Over Iran Base Oils

Renewed Sanctions Loom Over Iran Base Oils

Irans API Group I base oil exports face renewed pressure as the United States lobbies key allies to cease all imports of …

Political Tensions Threaten Middle East Growth

Political Tensions Threaten Middle East Growth

As the Middle Easts largest lubricants market, Iran is a major buyer and supplier of oil products. But what effects will …