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مجلة النفط والتعاون العربي
161
العدد
- 2017
أربعون
المجلد الثالث و ال
2016
أوابك العلمية لعام
�
ص لبحوث العلمية الفائزة بجائزة
�
عدد خا
74
64
down due to other reasons. But when crude oil prices started rising as of 2002
lubricants consumption reacted sharply by falling. The price effect is clear though
the fall in consumption of lubricants may have also been affected by the improved
quality available to consumers. But the quality effect does not act as fast as the
price effect.
Fig (19) - OECD Lubricants Consumption Vs Brent Crude Price - Source 77
The high price of crude oil while impacting lubricants consumption negatively, it
encourages re-refining because it makes base oil derived from re-refining less
expensive than virgin base stock. This was clearly demonstrated by the expansion
of the re-refining industry in North America during the high crude oil prices
period before 2014.
At the same time, crude oil prices impact the prices of virgin and re-refined base
stocks. Fig (20) developed from data by ICIS the lubricants consultants and price
reporters, as obtained privately from a re-refiner in Europe. When the price of
crude oil was relatively stable during January 2013 to June 2014, re-refined base
oil prices in the domestic and export markets were reasonably high and also
relatively stable. But they started falling after June 2014 following the fall of
crude oil prices. On average, there is about $16 a barrel (about $115 a ton)
difference between domestic and export prices of re-refined base oils in Europe.