US blender Pennzoil-Quaker State was the US’ largest base oils importer in November even as it took delivery of the smallest volume of supplies in seven months.
Its share of imports was instead magnified by an almost complete halt in shipments from South Korea and the UAE.
Those two markets are typically among the largest sources of shipments bound for the US.
The other key source is Qatar. Most of its flows moved to Pennzoil.
South Korea, UAE and Qatar are all key producers of Group III and Group III+ base oils.
The US is almost entirely reliant on imports to cover its Group III base oils requirements.
The almost complete absence of supplies from South Korea and the UAE also increased the impact of flows from other sources like Canada, the Netherlands and Saudi Arabia.
Pennzoil’s share of US base oils imports jumped to around 34pc of total shipments in November, government data showed.
The share was up from little more than 23pc the previous month even as its volume of imports fell from the previous month.
The lower volume reflected a drop in shipments from Qatar to the US in November.
The drop in supplies added to the slump in US base oils imports to a sixteen-month low in November of 967,000bl (136,200t).
ExxonMobil was the US’ second-largest base oils importer in November with a share of more than 20pc of the total.
The share was up from less than 8pc the previous month.
Its share of imports got a boost from a rise in shipments to their highest in 2022.
Petro-Canada America was the US’ third-largest importer in November with a share of more than 18pc of the total. The share was up from less than 8pc the previous month.
Its import volume also rose in November to a seven-month high.
There were no shipments to SK Lubricants Americas in November for the first time in 2022. It is typically one of the US’ largest base oils importers.
