Pennzoil boosts June US imports share

US blender Pennzoil Quaker State was the largest US base oils importer in June for a second month even as its total imports edged lower.

The blender boosted its share of US base oils imports for a third straight month to more than 25pc of total shipments in June, government data showed.

The share was up from more than 24pc in May and the highest this year. Most of the volume originated from Qatar.

US base oils imports of 1.39mn bl (196,000t) in June fell from 1.51mn bl the previous month as shipments from South Korea fell to a five-month low.

Base oils imports from the UAE also fell in June, but much less steeply. Imports of 257,000bl fell from a record-high 264,000bl in May. The June volume was the third highest on record.

The high volumes boosted Penthol’s share of US base oils imports to more than 18pc of the total, making it the country’s second-largest importer. The share was up from less than 16pc in May.

Penthol is the exclusive distributor of UAE refiner ADNOC’s Group III base oils in the US.

Petro-Canada America was the US' third-largest base oils importer, with a market share of more than 12pc of the total. Its share rose from less than 11pc in May amid a pick-up in supplies from Canada.

The fall in US base oils imports from South Korea in June cut SK Lubricants Americas’ share of US imports to less than 12pc of the total volume.

The share was down from more than 22pc in May and the lowest this year.