While oil investors are grappling with geopolitical risks, the potential impact of tensions in the Middle East is uncertain, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said Tuesday. While the conflict between Iraq’s central government and the semi-autonomous Kurds cut crude flows through a Turkish pipeline, the disruption may be short lived. Meanwhile, OPEC sent its strongest signal yet that its output cuts will be extended until the end of 2018. The flow rate through the pipeline from Kurdish region to the Turkish port of Ceyhan was about 200,000 barrels a day, according to a port agent report. That was unchanged from Thursday, but down from about 600,000 barrels a day before the conflict began. U.S. gasoline inventories expanded by 908,000 barrels last week, while distillate supplies climbed by 528,000 barrels to 134.5 million barrels, according to the Energy Information Administration. Crude stockpiles declined for a fourth week, down by 5.731 million barrels to 456.5 million barrels, the data showed. Click Read More below for additional information.

Beginning in April 2018, Sun Chemical and its parent company, DIC Corporation, will increase the production capacity of its DAILUBE® extreme pressure additives by 6,000 tons per annum at its eco-friendly plant in Kashima, Japan. The move will better serve customers around the globe as well as promote and deliver its trusted and market leading sulfurized extreme pressure additives into new and existing markets. Optimized for metalworking fluids used in cutting, forming and rolling, DAILUBE extreme pressure additives are light in color, low odor and available in a range of chemistries, including olefin, lard, vegetable, ester, and fatty acid. Click Read More below for additional information.

With increasing demand in the printing industry for equipment that enables more frequent and faster job changes on press, Flint Group officially launches the new rotec® ULW Bridge to join the lightweight family of sleeves and adapters. The rotec® ULW Bridge is an ultra lightweight polyurethane adapter offering up to 65% reduction in weight compared to similar products in the market – a significant weight decrease improving safety and handling for press operators. Developed together with customers, this new generation adapter has been validated in applications on plate-mounting equipment and on presses running up to 450 m/min for the last 1-2 years. Ralf Venema, Flint Group General Manager explains: “Our Product Development Team is focused on developing products to help the customer work smarter, faster and easier. The rotec® ULW Bridge is an excellent solution for improved safety and easier handling at the printer.” The rotec® ULW Bridge is suitable for all press widths and offers particular benefits where higher wall thicknesses are most commonly used, such as in cantilevered mounter applications and unusually large print applications, including corrugated pre-print. Click Read More below for additional information.