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أوابك العلمية لعام
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ص لبحوث العلمية الفائزة بجائزة
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عدد خا
مجلة النفط والتعاون العربي
161
العدد
- 2017
أربعون
المجلد الثالث و ال
Re-refining of Used Lubricating Oil and its Economic and Environmental Implications
57
Figure 31 Capital costs versus capacity for a grassroots re-refinery
Source: Reproduced from (Park, 2012)
7.1.4 Profitability
In order to compete, the re-refined lube oil must be sold at a lower price than virgin oil
base stocks. Actually, re-refined base oils have always been linked to virgin base stocks
depending themselves on the price of crude oil. Historical re-refining margins were in
the range of $1.0 per gallon and $2.5 per gallon during the 2010-2014 period. Up till
now, this spread has provided re-refiners with substantial revenues. But this boom
period may be over as the industry's specific cycle is declining and falling oil prices are
starting to have an effect on the re-refining industry. Kline´s November 2015 report
(Globenewswire, 2015) showed a steady decline in re-refinery margins and Kline went
on to predict that prospects for a short term rebound in re-refinery cash margins are
limited.
The re-refining industry is constrained both by feedstock cost and product prices which
are dictated by oil product prices. While a high feedstock cost will put pressure on
profits margin, a low base oil selling price will make it difficult to maintain these
profits. The re-refiner has no control over the base oil market, and is usually forced to
accept the market price if he wants to sell its products.
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