Nyet to Nyzhny Group I
Lukoil is moving to permanently shut down its API Group I base oil plant in Nizhny Novgorod, a source close to Lukoil activities told LubesnGreases sister publication, Lube Report.
According to my knowledge, the company is now making all necessary preparations to shut down the capacity by April 1, said the individual, who spoke on condition of anonymity because Lukoil had not officially announced the closing. The plant will be reconfigured to produce light petrochemical products. In Russian refining circles, that term refers to fuels such as gasoline, diesel or kerosene.
Located in the city of Kstovo, Nizhny Novgorod is the smallest of three base oil plants operated by Lukoil, with capacity to make 230,000 metric tons of base oil per year. The company also makes base oil in Volgograd (capacity: 550,000 t/y) and Perm (480,000 t/y). Lukoil is among the top 10 global lubricant producers, supplying 1.2 million tons of base oils and lubricants in 2014 and holding about a 40 percent share of Russias market.
Ineos Invests inPAO, PIB
Ineos Oligomers will further debottleneck its polyalphaolefin plant in LaPorte, Texas, this year and will install a production train of up to 80,000 metric tons per year at an unspecified location by 2018, the company announced. These projects are in addition to other investments, including construction of a linear alpha olefin plant on the U.S. Gulf Coast, expected now in third-quarter 2017. Other recent projects have included a 10 percent debottlenecking of its LAO plant in Joffre, Alberta, Canada – LAO is the building block for PAO – and revamping of the companys polyisobutene plant in Lavera, France.
Ineos Oligomers Business Director Joe Walton said that the company debottlenecked LaPortes PAO plant in 2013 and will complete another such project by the end of 2015. Furthermore, we have a project engineered for a 15 percent debottleneck at [another PAO plant in Feluy, Belgium] that can be utilized if necessary. These incremental capacity additions will allow us to support PAO growth until we add an additional new world-scale train in 2018, potentially up to 80,000 metric tons per year of additional capacity.
Ineos also invested E 10 million over the past three years in its 80,000 ton per year PIB plant in Lavera, France. Upgrades there include the ability to import feedstock, which reduced dependency on Laveras steam cracker, new in-line filtration technology for its tank farm and several new tanks, and process improvements to achieve more consistent PIB viscosity, it said. Ineos sells PIB to lubricant manufacturers worldwide, under the Indopol brand name.
Axel Aims High in France
Axel France SAS says its new grease plant in Niort, France, will have capacity of 8,000 metric tons per year after a pressurized cooker is delivered to the facility this spring. This will enable Axel France to grow further domestically and extend the export opportunities, the company stated, following a grand opening in March. The dedicated food-grade production unit at the plant made its first batch in December, and other specialties produced at Niort include biodegradable railroad greases.
Axel acquired the former Christol Grease business, then located at another site in Niort, from Shell in 2006. Saying the old plant was outdated and limited in capacity, it acquired the new site in early 2014 and completed the relocation early this year.
Nol, Sweden-based Axel Christiernsson has European production sites in Sweden, the Netherlands and France. In 2011 it acquired U.S.-based Jesco Resources, which has two grease plants with a combined capacity of 16,000 tons per year and now operates as Axel Americas.
World Bank Deaf to Venoco
In an international arbitration court, a World Bank tribunal on April 3 ruled that it doesnt have jurisdiction in a 2012 case in which the Netherlands-incorporated holding company of Venezuelas largest lubricant company, Venoco, argued that Venezuela wrongfully expropriated its assets in 2010. The tribunal found that although it is internationally held, holding company Venoklims owners are Venezuelan nationals and therefore not truly international investors.
Venoklims dispute stems from the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavezs October 2010 seizure of Venoco and its five subsidiaries. The Socialist regime claimed that making Venoco part of government-owned Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. would help lower the countrys lubricant prices. At the time, Venoco was majority-owned by Franklin Duran, a Venezuelan national who was later sentenced to four years in a U.S. prison for being an unregistered foreign agent for Venezuela.
Among the expropriated Venoco assets are Aditivos Orinoco de Venezuela and Adinoven C.A., which make additives for Shell and ExxonMobil lubricants, dielectric oils and specialty chemicals; Servicios Tecnico Administrativos Venoco C.A.; grease manufacturer C.A. Nacional de Grasas Lubricantes (CANGL); and Quimica Venoco C.A. Adinoven is a 55-45 percent joint venture between Infineum and Venoco. All remain under PDVSA control.
Flexicon Spreads Out
Flexicon Corp. has doubled the size of its U.S. headquarters in Bethlehem, Pa., after erecting a new 91,000-sq.ft. building there. The company, which builds bulk conveying systems, bag filling and handling equipment, and large-scale batching systems, began moving to occupy the new space during March, according to President David Gill.
Grease Plant Opens in UAE
Emirates Lube Oil Co. (which does business as Elco) confirmed it had commenced operations at a new grease plant located in Umm al-Quwain in October last year. Elco calls it one of the most sophisticated plants in the Middle East, and versatile enough to produce a wide range of greases. Elco Marketing Manager Ali Farah said the plant can produce 12,000 metric tons of grease per year, on a par with regional competitors like Total Marketing Middle East, which has the same capacity to make grease at its U.A.E. lube blending plant.
Tianhe Stock Suspended
The Hong Kong Stock Exchange suspended trading of Tianhe Chemical shares on March 26, and the stock was still not trading as this issue goes to press. Tianhe, Chinas largest lubricant additive company, issued a statement that day saying it required additional time to compile and publish its 2014 results, and thus would miss the March 31 deadline for releasing them – a non-compliance with stock exchange rules that triggered the halt in trading. Tianhe offered no projection of when the 2014 results would be available.
This is the second time HKSE has suspended Tianhe. Trading also halted in September, after stock researchers at Anonymous Analytics accused the company of falsifying data in its initial public offering last June. Tianhe officials firmly rejected the charge, saying it was motivated by short-sellers, and trading resumed on Oct. 9.
Oil Recycler Makes VGO
Synergy Hydrocarbon Recovery in March completed construction of a used oil recycling facility in Kingsland, Georgia. The refinery will produce vacuum gas oil (VGO), low-sulfur cutter and a vacuum tower asphalt extender. The facility is strategically located along the southeastern coast of Georgia, with access to highway, railway and waterway transportation.
CEO Elliott Paul said the plant is equipped with modern environmental controls and technology, and added, This facility will provide a safe destination for over 24 million gallons of used oil collected annually throughout the Southeastern United States.
Meet in Brazil
South Americas premier lubricants event, the 5th International Meet the Market conference and exhibition (Encontro Internacional con o Mercado), returns June 30 to July 1 to Rio de Janeiro. Organized by Lubes em Foco magazine and ICIS, and held under the auspices of the countrys national petroleum agency, ANP, the event expects to draw more than 350 participants from the hemispheres lubricants, base oil and additives industry. Presentations will cover marketing, technical, forecasting and economic topics, and will be simultaneous translated into Portuguese and English. Sponsorship opportunities are also available for this once-a-year event. Web: www.encontro.com.brE-mail: encontro@lubes.com.br
Done Deals
KMG Chemicals Inc. announced that it would acquire valve lubricant manufacturer Valves Inc. of Texas, known as Val-Tex, for $23.5 million. The deal was to close by the end of last month.
Transformer oil rerefiner Hydrodec acquired the business and assets of Eco-Oil International and its subsidiaries, along with the Eco-Oil trade name, for GBP 2.4 million (U.S. $3.5 million).
Clean Harbors closed last month on its $85 million acquisition of Nuverra Environmental Solutions used motor oil collector subsidiary Thermo Fluids, of Scottsdale, Ariz.
Call for Papers
The 20th International Colloquium Tribology will take place Jan. 12 to 14, 2016, at the Technische Akademie Esslingen, near Stuttgart, Germany, with the theme Industrial and Automotive Lubrication. TAE is one of the most established international venues for technical exchange among manufacturers of lubricants and additives, suppliers and OEMs, and universities and research institutions. Researchers, industrial experts and manufacturers worldwide are invited to submit abstracts online by May 31. Among the main topics to be covered are lubricants and additives; automotive tribology and lubrication; tribology of machine elements; condition monitoring; surface and material science; nanotribology; testing; fundamentals and more. Web: www.tae.de/tribology
Honors and Awards
Amalie Motor Oil received the Vendor of the Year trophy from The Parts House, a Jacksonville, Fla.-based premium automotive and warehouse distributor with 40 Southeastern U.S. and Caribbean locations. TPH cited Amalies exemplary performance and on-time delivery for helping it to grow its oil business.
Filtration products maker Des-Case Corp. was hailed by the deputy assistant to the President of the United States as a superb example of the growth possible for American manufacturers that partner with the U.S. Department of Commerces Export Assistance Centers. At its plant near Nashville, Jerry Abramson, the director of intergovernmental affairs, said that by working with Commerce since 2001, Des-Case grew from a small manufacturer with modest U.S.-only sales to a global leader in contamination control, with 35 percent of its sales now in international countries.
Elevance Renewable Sciences was named a 2015 New Energy Pioneer award winner by Bloomberg New Energy Finance, at its summit in New York City – one of just 10 companies recognized worldwide for their potential scale, innovation and momentum. Elevance CEO KLynne Johnson accepted the award on behalf of the company, which supplies renewable alternatives to petrochemicals across multiple industries, including lubricants.
Faces in the News
Calumet Specialty Products Partners has a formal search under way for a new CEO, and on April 1 brought Bill Hatch, a former chief operating executive for Citgo, aboard as interim CEO. It also named Vice Chairman and CEO F. William Grube (who co-founded Calumet in 1990 with Fred Fehsenfeld Jr.) to the newly formed position of executive vice chairman. The management shuffle also saw the resignation of Calumets executive vice president of operations, Tim Barnhart, who left for personal reasons on March 11, and of Grubes daughter Jennifer Straumins, who served as executive vice president and resigned March 31. No reason was given for the departure of Straumins, who was interviewed for an article on the refining and lubricants company in our April issue.
SK Lubricants Americas is expanding its sales and marketing team and has named Scott Carter to the role of sales manager, base oils. Based in North Carolina, he brings more than 20 years of experience in sales and marketing of petroleum and specialty chemicals, including atPBF Energys Paulsboro Refinery and Total Lubricants USA.
Nynas has a new market manager for the tire oils segment: Herbert Fruhmann, Ph.D., replaced Thorsten Lutze, who became the Swedish refiners global account manager. Fruhmann has worked at Nynas for almost nine years, and was market manager for base oils.
Aaron Read was named interim president at North American Lubricants Co., taking over from Todd Peterson who resigned to pursue other opportunities. Read has worked for NAL for 10 years in sales and marketing, and as vice president he spearheaded a recent move into military and food-grade products.
Effective May 4, Chet M. Thompson will become president of the Washington, D.C.-based American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers, succeeding Charles T. Drevna, who retired after eight years in the role. Thompson served as AFPMs external counsel for the past nine years, as a partner at Crowell and Moring LLP. He has spent more than 20 years in energy and environmental law, including at the Environmental Protection Agency and Collier Shannon Scott PLLC, where he focused on the Clean Air Act and RCRA.
Radco Industries promoted Stephanie Kotsios to be account manager of its military products division. Since joining Radco in 2006 she has worked in sales, customer service, operations planning, quality, research and development, procurement and supply chain management. Kotsios holds a science degree from Northern Illinois Univ., and expects to complete her MBA there this month.
Joel Reber is now a division partner at Hydrotex, serving the agriculture, construction, food processing, manufacturing, oil & gas and fleet management industries in a region spanning Austin, San Antonio, central and west Texas. Reber has 25 years of oil industry experience, including with ConocoPhillips, and is based in Austin, Texas.
Brookfield Engineering Laboratories named Nilay Shah to the new position of international sales and marketing manager for its laboratory products and services, with sales responsibility for all territories outside of the Americas, the U.K. and China. Shah has been Brookfields regional sales manager for India and the southern Asian market for the last 10 years.
Amalie Motor Oil welcomes two to its management team. Charlie Neilson, formerly with the National Hot Rod Association, fills the new position of strategic partnership manager, motor sports, and will oversee Amalies hot rod and drag racing activities. Michael Davis, formerly with Brenntag, is West Coast regional manager, responsible for coordinating with new and existing distributors and expanding the business in the fleet and commercial segments.
Glander International Bunkering, a bunker and lubricant trading and brokering firm, promoted Kim Gade to senior bunker/lubricant trader and team leader for its Dubai office. Gade has been in the bunkering industry for 18 years and he joined Glander two years ago as a senior trader.