US’ February base oils imports rise

US base oils imports rose to a five-month high in February at a time when domestic demand was muted and supply plentiful.

Base oils imports of 1.47mn bl (207,460t) in February rose from 1.34mn bl the previous month, US government data showed.

The volume was the highest since September and up from average imports of 1.37mn bl/month over the past year.

US base oils imports covered the equivalent of 44pc of total domestic US consumption in 2022.

Rising US base oils imports put additional pressure on US refiners to move more supplies to overseas markets.