US’ January base oils/lube output rises

US base oils output rose to a six-month high in January even as a round of maintenance work began at several plants in the country.

Total output of 4.89mn bl (686,760t) in January rose from 4.70mn bl the previous month, according to the EIA.

Output rose for a third month to the highest since last July.

Base oils and lube output usually falls in the month of January from December.

The last time that output rose in January from the previous month was at the beginning of 2017.