The U.S. Gulf has transformed into one of the worlds most active regions. Europe is also doing pretty well, with only a slowdown on the transatlantic route, but Asia is struggling to cope with countless open ships. U.S. Gulf It would seem that at last, owners have twigged that there really is good demand on the U.S. Gulf-to-Far East route for their ships after all, and that perhaps they can dare ask for higher freights. Except that the revelation occurred just as the last few ships at the end of...

STUTTGART, Germany-As General Motors vehicle sales climb to record volume worldwide, the behemoth automaker reminded automatic transmission fluid suppliers that its trademarked Dexron-VI global specification is more important than ever, and warned that there is no such thing as an ATF that meets universal specifications. Speaking at the Uniti Mineral Oil Technology Congress here on April 15, GM senior lubricant engineer Khaled Zreik noted that 2014 was a record year for the Detroit-headquartered...

Lubrizol Corp. will increase capacity for chemicals – including some used in specialty additive systems for lubricating oils – to support changing customer needs and improve site infrastructure at its Painesville Township, Ohio, plant under a five-year, $100 million expansion announced last week. According to the company, its Painesville facility is the manufacturing site for new, highly specialized chemical products and services for a variety of applications. These include specialty...

Lubricant additives supplier Afton Chemical and the base oil business of South Korean refiner S-Oil each posted increased profits and decreased sales for the quarter ending March 31, compared to 2014s first quarter. Afton Chemical Afton Chemical reported a $105 million operating profit for 2015s first quarter, up by 9.2 percent from $96.2 million in 2014s first quarter. Parent company NewMarket Corp. stated in its recent earnings report that lower raw material costs drove the increase in operati...

Saprefs refinery in Durban, South Africa, has moved up a scheduled two-month maintenance shutdown following an April 17 pipeline fire, raising concerns in the South African lubricants market because the refinery has one of the countrys two API Group I base oil plants. Sapref is a 50-50 joint venture between Shell SA Refining and BP Southern Africa. After the fire, the 172,000 barrels per day refinery in Durban shut down April 20 for maintenance that previously was scheduled to begin May 1, a Sap...

BARCELONA, Spain – Scale and wear particles are the most common sources of contaminants in greases, along with burned soap, dirt and sand, a working group of the European Lubricating Grease Institute reported last week at the ELGI Annual General Meeting. The Grease Particle Evaluation Working Group reported that it continues to progress in its effort to develop a way of measuring grease contamination. Other ELGI working groups are developing tests for rheological properties and performance...