Afton Chemical notified customers that it declared force majeure effective July 26 because of flooding at its additives plant in Sauget, Illinois, an unplanned, sitewide outage. Products affected include engine oil additive packages. 

Global oil markets will likely remain tight and supportive of higher prices well into 2023 as demand continues to recover from COVID-19 lows despite growing concerns over a global recession, Russel Hardy, the CEO of oil trader Vitol, said June 21.

Global oil supply will struggle to meet rising demand next year, meaning consumers will continue to face tight fuel markets, the International Energy Agency said in its first assessment of 2023

Due to the past pandemic, some products were released due to low demand, such as paraffin, which, since it is not stored, reduces its refinery. This means that other refinery products, including the raw materials for producing base oil for lubricants, are in short supply. 

OPEC expects global oil demand to rise in 2023 but at a slower pace than 2022, the producer group said in its first forecast for next year, citing still robust economic growth and progress in containing COVID-19 in China.