Fuels & Lubricants Magazine

NEWS CORNER
Europe Base Oil Price
Report
FUCHS will Invest
Approximately EUR 50
Million in the Expansion
of the Mannheim Site
Today, FUCHS PETROLUB SE,
the world's largest independent
manufacturer of high-quality
lubricants and related products,
announces the purchase of two
large properties in the immediate
vicinity of its current location
in Mannheim, Germany. The two
properties acquired lead to a 25%
expansion of the site in Mannheim,
which then covers a total of
135,000 m².
The acquisition of these two
properties by FUCHS SCHMIER­
STOFFE GMBH, which is based
in Mannheim, is part of FUCHS'
global investment initiative with
the aim of securing sustained
growth in the long term. An additional
office building and a new
logistics center with an automated
warehouse for raw materials are
planned on the new premises.
In the next three to four years,
FUCHS will invest a total of approximately
EUR 50 million in the
expansion of the Mannheim site.
Source: www.fuchs.com
European API Group I export
prices remain unchanged at this
time, although some players believe
they face upward pressure due to
crude costs. Light solvent neutrals
are priced between $720/t and
$740/t, while SN500 and SN600
are at $795/t-$820/t and bright
stock in a wide range at $865/t-
$895/t. These prices refer to large
cargo-sized parcels of Group I
base oils sold on an FOB basis ex
mainland European supply points,
always subject to availability.
Group II pricing normally responds
quickly to rises in crude and
feedstock levels, with importers
applying adjustments in source
markets that then filter down to
overseas areas. This is especially
true during times like now when
demand is growing. Prices in Europe
remain stable this week, but
sellers and buyers recognize that
there is upward pressure.
FCA and truck- or barge-delivered
prices are at $875/t-$920/t
(€745/t-€785) for light-viscosity
neutrals and $955/t-$975/t
(€815/t-€820) for 500N and 600N.
In the Group III camp, FCA
values for oils with partial slates
of finished product approvals
are maintained, with no news
that increases would be levied
from Oct. 1. Four cSt oils are at
€765/t-€770/t ($885/t-$895),
6 cSt at €775/t-€780/t ($900/t-
$910) and 8 cSt at €785/t-€790/t
($910/t-$920).
Group III stocks carrying full
slates of approvals are priced
higher, at €795/t-€810/t for 4
cSt, €800/t-€820/t for 6 cSt and
€810/t-€825/t for 8 cSt, all on an
FCA basis Antwerp-Rotterdam
-Amsterdam.
Source: www.lubesngreases.com
Transformer Oil
Rerefining Patent for
Europe
Hydrodec Group plc, an Australian
and U.S. industrial oil rerefiner,
was granted a European patent to
protect its intellectual property
rights over a rerefining technology
for making electrical insulating oil
from used oil. The patent covers
design and process improvements
to the rerefining process, the company
announced on its website.
Source: www.hydrodec.com
Official Opening of Newly
Refurbished Technical
Laboratories
As the multi-million pound technology-based
investment continues
at the Hanley plant, enhancements
and refurbishments have
now been completed in the R&D
Technical Centre. Dr. Christine
Fuchs (Vice President Global
Research & Development) was invited
to officially open and marked
the occasion by ceremonially cutting
a ribbon on the entrance doors.
Source: www.fuchs.com
PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK
34 Fuels&Lubricants No. 3 OCTOBER 2018