Petronobel Mineral Oils San and Tic A.S. announced plans last week to build a lubricant blending plant in an industrial zone near Istanbul. Another company, Kristal Petrokimiya, recently unveiled plans to construct a smaller blending plant north of the port city of Izmir, in western Turkey.

In little more than a year, leading base oil distributor Penthol has gained a solid foothold in South Africa and established itself as a major supplier in the region. It is now providing independent blenders and lubricant manufacturers with API Group I base oils in a market filled with potential, says Clifford Classen, sales director for Africa.

Independent lubricants blender Fuchs Petrolub SE reported a 9% increase in net profit and a 16% uptick in sales revenues for the first quarter, compared to the same period last year, driven by adjustments in prices. The Mannheim, Germany-based company recorded earnings after tax of €73 million for the quarter ended March 31, improving from €67 million.

Domestic lubricant demand in Germany declined 8% to 51,416 tons in February, with steep decreases occuring in metalworking oils, machine oils, hydraulic fluids and turbine oils, according to data released April 27 by a government agency. All metalworking oils category segments showed declines of at least 48% year to year.