CEPSA, through its subsidiary CEPSA Lubricantes and intermediary Bergé Automoción, the largest private car distributor on the Iberian Peninsula and in Latin America, has made a five-year deal to distribute lubricants in the Chinese market through SAIC Group company APSIS. SAIC is China's leading automobile company.

Hyderabad, India-based Gulf Oil Corporation Ltd shareholders on January 30 voted to approve management’s proposal to demerge the lubricants business of the company into a separate company (wholly owned subsidiary) namely Gulf Oil Lubricants India Limited. Separately, Gulf Oil said it plans to build a new lubricant blending plan in Chennai, India.

Marathon Petroleum last Monday announced that it has signed an agreement to purchase a biodiesel facility in Cincinnati, Ohio from Felda Iffco Sdn Bhd, Malaysia. The plant currently produces several products including biodiesel and glycerin. The capacity of the plant is 4,100 barrels per day. The transaction is expected to close in April 2014.

BP reported a sharp drop in fourth-quarter profits, posting underlying replacement cost profit of $2.8 billion for the fourth quarter of 2013, 28 percent lower than the same period a year ago. Neste Oil reported comparable operating profit for the full year of EUR 604 (US$821) million, an increase of 70% compared to the EUR 355 million reported in 2012.

Renewable oil and bioproducts company, Solazyme, announced that commercial production of algal oils has commenced at two Iowa facilities. Production at the two Iowa facilities is expected to ramp to a nameplate capacity of 20,000 MT/yr within 12-18 months, with targeted potential expansion to 100,000 MT/yr in subsequent years.