Volume 4 Issue 26
Sanctions Hit Belarusian Base Oils
June 29, 2021Belarus’ base oils effectively stopped flowing to the West last week after the European Union imposed sanctions against the country. The EU was retaliating for the country’s ongoing crackdown on protesters and critics, as well as the forced landing of a Ryanair flight in Minsk in May.
Saudis Form Lubes Business Group
June 29, 2021Saudi Arabia’s main business association formed a committee this month to promote reforms for the nation’s finished lubricant and base oil markets, charged with tasks such as combatting the use of fraudulent products.
France’s Lube Sales Ascend in April
June 29, 2021Lubricant consumption in France jumped 61% in April, compared to the same month in 2020, likely reflecting a rebound from the first full month of COVID-19 restrictions last year. It marked the second consecutive month of year-to-year improvement after lower totals in January and February.
From Other Editions of Lube Report
June 29, 2021Bullishness for China’s Industrial Segment
Briefly Noted
June 29, 2021TotalEnergies and Stellantis renewed their partnership for five years for the Peugeot, Citroen and DS Automobiles brands, and expanded it to include Opel and Vauxhall. The cooperation agreements include increased collaboration in research and development, TotalEnergies’ supply of first-fill lubricants for vehicles produced in factories of Stellantis’ five brands and recommendation of Quartz lubricants in the brands’ after-sales and maintenance networks. Under an expanded distribution agreement that includes the African continent, Safic-Alcan will serve as an authorized distributor of PMC Organometallix’s Fascat catalysts, which are inorganic and organometallic tin compounds that are used in manufacturing synthetic lubricants, among other applications, and other fine chemicals.