Places’n’Faces

The Gonfreville plant has 9,600 barrels per day (500,000 metric tons/year) of Group I production capacity and 800 b/d of Group III capacity, according to LubesnGreases 2014 Guide to Global Base Oil Refining. French news outlets reported Total as saying it would lower base oil capacity by about half, to 260,000 t/y tons per year, while optimizing diesel output.

Set to Spin: Whitmore, Jet-Lube

Investment firm Capital Southwest will spin off specialty lubricant marketer Whitmore Manufacturing and two other chemical businesses – Jet-Lube and RectorSeal – wrapping them into a stand-alone company by third-quarter 2015.

Whitmore Manufacturing is a specialty lubricants business based in Rockwall, Texas. Its portfolio includes lubes, greases, gear oils and hydraulic fluids for intensive surface mining, railroad and industrial applications, plus specialties such as applicators, friction modifiers and food-industry lubes. Capital Southwest said Whitmores revenue for its 2014 fiscal year was $57.8 million.

Jet-Lube, with branches in Houston, Edmonton, Canada, and Berkshire, England, specializes in anti-seize compounds, greases and specialty lubricants for food-grade, industrial and marine applications. Its 2014 revenue was $51.1 million.

Hengli Diving into Group III

Hengli Petrochemical Refinery Co. has decided to enter the base oil market, undertaking to build a large API Group II and III plant in Dalian, China. The plant will be designed to make 683,000 metric tons per year, said Chevron Lummus Global, which is supplying the technology for the project.

Hengli is a private company formed in 1994. Until recently the company focused on textiles and chemical fibers, but in 2012 it opened a purified terephthalic acid plant, the first phase of a petrochemical complex on Dalians Changxing Island. CLG said the base oil plant will also be located there.

CLG said the new plant will use its Isodewaxing and Isofinishing technologies plus CLGs catalyst material. In addition to Group II and Group III, Hengli will produce white oils.

N.J. Yanks 19 Motor Oils

A New Jersey government agency issued a statewide ban on 19 motor oils, saying a state-contracted lab found each failed to conform to the viscosity promised on its label. State Office of Weights and Measures Acting Superintendent Howard Pine issued a stop-use and removal order Dec. 4 ordering all New Jersey establishments to immediately remove the 19 banned motor oil products from their shelves or displays, and to stop selling or using them. Businesses that fail to comply are subject to a penalty of no less than $100 per package or container that is sold or offered for sale.

The ban covers 19 products across eight brands: Auto Club Motor Oil (SAE 5W-30, SAE 10W-30, SAE 10W-40, SAE 20W-50); Black Knight Motor Oil (5-30 and 10-40); LubeState Motor Oil SAE 10W-30; MaxiGuard MG (10-30, 10-40, 20-50, SAE30); Orbit Motor Oil (5-20, 10-40); TruStar Motor Oil 10-30; U.S. Economy Motor Oil (5-30, 10-40, SAE 10W-40); U.S. Spirit Motor Oil (SAE 10W-30, SAE 10W-40).

Auto Club and Maxiguard are manufactured by Bass Oil and Chemical of Brooklyn, N.Y. Black Knight is a Smittys Supply product. Orbit is listed as a business in Gary, Ind. The U.S. Economy and U.S. Spirit brands are distributed by Great Lakes Lubricants of Franklin Park, Ill. It was unclear who manufactures the LubeState and Trustar products.

The agency in June dispatched officers to filling station convenience stores across New Jersey to examine and purchase motor oils of various brands. Samples of each went to Saybolt LP for SAE J300 analysis and testing. Each significantly failed at least one of the viscosity measurements required for the viscosity grade specified on the products own label, the agency said in issuing its stop-use and removal order.

Metuchen, N.J.,-based Petroleum Quality Institute of America worked with New Jersey to uncover the deficient oils, and New Jerseys acting director for consumer affairs, Steve C. Lee, publicly thanked PQIA for its role in calling attention to this issue. (Tom Glenn, head of PQIA, writes a monthly column for this magazine but LubesnGreases is not affiliated with PQIA.)

Lubrizol Bolsters Deer Park, Partners Mitsui

Lubrizol has enhanced its blending plant operations in Deer Park, Texas, in preparation for coming upgrades in heavy-duty diesel, passenger car and marine diesel specifications. The $28 million expansion will improve blending efficiency and increase capacity to ensure supply reliability, it said. Work at Deer Park included new storage tanks, state-of-the-art automated piggable component manifolds, automated unloading sites and in-line blending advances. The additive company will invest a further $37 million for infrastructure improvements to railcar loading and unloading operations and to enhance tank truck and isotainer handling.

In a separate arena, Lubrizol signed an exclusive agreement to carry Mitsui Chemicals Lucant polymer products, which are used in lubricants as viscosity modifiers, film thickness enhancers and base fluids. Lubrizol will be responsible for sales and marketing of Lucant, while Mitsui Chemicals will produce and develop the products, the companies said.

Lucant polymers are hydrocarbon co-oligomers of ethylene and olefin; they compete with high-viscosity polyalphaolefins, polyisobutene and somewhat with polymethacrylates. Theyre also used in plastics and resins. Lubrizol expects to begin supplying them in first-quarter 2015.

Ergon Footprint Grows

Ergon Inc. has formed a Mexican entity, and also named a partner for South Africa. In the former, Ergon Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V. will provide a direct supply of specialty naphthenic and paraffinic products produced at Ergon-owned refineries in Vicksburg, Miss., and Newell, W.Va. Lance Puckett, vice president of petroleum specialties marketing for North and South America, said, Ergon continues to grow its global capabilities. To that end, were thrilled to announce the extension of our operations into Mexico. This will allow us to bring our world-class products and customer service to one of the most strategically important regions of our global market.

For South Africa and the sub-Saharan region, Ergon Europe tapped Orbichem Petrochemicals as its exclusive naphthenic oil distributor. Orbichem, part of the Calulo Group, is an established regional distributor and marketer of petrochemical products, and specializes in premium base oils and specialty oils. It will distribute Ergons naphthenic insulating oil, base oil and process oil.

PetroChoice Buys PetroLiance

Two major U.S. lubricant distributors have united: PetroChoice, based in Avoca, Pa., and Superior, Wis., in November purchased PetroLiance of Apex, N.C., for an undisclosed sum.

PetroLiances distribution network – spanning Florida, Illinois, North Carolina, Georgia, Ohio and South Carolina – greatly add to PetroChoices own 20-state network. PetroChoice CEO Shane OKelly said the two companies geographic markets are highly complementary, as their locations help fill in gaps in our existing network while also extending our reach in the Southeast.

OKelly will remain CEO of PetroChoice, while PetroLiance chief Kevin McCarter will serve as a consultant until his retirement in 2015. In October, PetroChoice also absorbed LubriCorp, a distributor based in Knoxville, Tenn., and opened a new distribution hub in Bridgeport, Ohio.

JX Nippon Heads to Mexico

Japanese petroleum heavyweight JX Nippon Oil & Energy aims to have a wholly owned lube oil sales company in Mexico by this month. JX Nippon Oil & Energy Mexico S.A. de C.V. will be based in Mexico City with 2 million pesos (U.S. $147,000) in capital and will be steered by Motoshi Sunami, president of JX Nippon Oil & Energy USA Inc.

The new venture also will sell lubricants in Central and South America, stated JX Nippon Oil & Energy, known as NOC. The company expects Mexicos demand for lubricants to increase, especially to service cars made by Japanese manufacturers.

NOC currently ships lubes to Mexico from its U.S. plant in Alabama, which is undergoing a major expansion of blending capacity. A company official declined to say whether this supply will continue once the Mexican subsidiary is set up.

NOC sells 500,000 kiloliters of lubes worldwide each year, and hopes to grow that to 900,000 kl/year by 2020 by targeting emerging markets.

Nynas Berths in Singapore

Nynas has inaugurated a new logistics hub in Singapore, to speed up deliveries of naphthenic specialty oils and increase availability in the Asia-Pacific region. This will shorten delivery times for customers in Shanghai, Indonesia, Thailand and other nearby countries from six weeks to two weeks, it said.

With Singapore, Nynas now has three hubs around the globe, including Antwerp and Houston, said Simon Day at Nynas. The Swedish refiner also organized its Asia-Pacific supply chain the same way as in Europe and the Americas, to have a greater variety of oil grades on site at the new hub. Singapore will receive large volumes of oils from sister hubs in Houston and Antwerp several times per year, and with storage for 32,000 cubic meters, Day said the hub will also be better able to react quickly to sudden, unforeseen demands in the market.

Faces in the News

Calumet Specialty Products Partners welcomed Leah Herrington as vice president of marketing for its Packaging and Branded Products division, to oversee all branding, marketing, advertising, public relations and corporate communications efforts for its Bel-Ray, Quantum, Royal Purple and TruFuel brands. The longtime marketing expert has worked with PepsiCo, IBM, Mary Kay, Quaker State and most recently the Cetaphil brand of Nestles Gaderman business.

William A. Wulfsohn is the new chairman and CEO of Valvolines parent company Ashland Inc., taking over Jan. 1 from James J. OBrien, who retired after 12 years at the helm. Wulfsohn, 52, brings nearly 30 years of executive experience, including with Honeywell, PPG and Carpenter Technology since 2010. He holds a chemical engineering degree from the Univ. of Michigan and an MBA from Harvard.

Bret Chitwood has joined Motiva Base Oils as international sales manager, following the retirement in September of David Hieronymus. Chitwood comes to Motiva from Phillips 66, where he spent 17 years in various roles and most recently was director of base oil supply and accounts. He holds an MBA from the Univ. of Tulsa and a bachelors in marketing from Oklahoma State Univ.

Teknor Apex has appointed Chelle Estades as market manager for its chemicals division, including the TruVis line of esters used as lubricant base fluids, blend stocks and additives. With a chemical engineering degree from Rice, she also will work to expand the firms portfolio of ester offerings. Her lubricants industry experience includes work with Dorf Ketal and Ciba.

CRC Industries, which makes automotive specialty chemicals, hired Nicole Brennan as national accounts manager, retail, responsible for major accounts and business development. She brings 12 years of automotive aftermarket experience, including with Continental Automotive Systems.

DuBois Keeps Buying

Having bought Angler Industries in August, Cincinnatis DuBois Chemicals has gone on to acquire American Finishing Resources, of Chilton, Wis. This latest deal combines DuBois paint pre-treatment expertise with AFRs coating line fixtures, material handling and coating removal solutions. Together, they can reduce total cost and provide quality improvements for customers, said DuBois. The AFR acquisition also expands its service, chemical solutions and lean-manufacturing capabilities.

Eastern Oil Grows Out

Eastern Oil Co. has completed a 10,000-sq.ft. expansion and renovation project at its Pontiac, Mich., home. One highlight is a new state-of-the-art laboratory for R&D projects, quality control and technical service activities. The expansion, said company president Mike Skuratovich, also includes new offices and conference rooms; new offices for warehouse and production staff; and new shipping and receiving docks. The total upgrade also increases manufacturing and storage capacity, he added, to help meet the growing demand for the companys lubrication products and services.

Eastern Oil makes and distributes lubricating oils and metalworking fluids, serving commercial, industrial and automobile manufacturing markets throughout North America.

Russia Hails Base Oil Launch

Tatneft, which is mainly owned by the Republic of Tatarstan, on Dec. 1 launched commercial production of API Group II and III base oils at its refinery in Nizhnekamsk, Russia. With capacity to produce 90,000 t/y of Group II base oil and 100,000 t/y of Group III, the plant was made possible by the installation of a $730 million heavy-distillate hydrocracking unit. To mark the event, the opening ceremony was attended by Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, Tatarstan President Rustam Minninikhanov, Tatneft head Nail Maganov and other dignitaries.

Tatneft announced the base oil project in 2008 and began building the hydrocracker in 2010. Operated by Tatneft subsidiary Taneco, the new plant uses wax isomerization and hydrofinishing technology licensed from Chevron Lummus Global.

Companies such as Lukoil, Gazprom Neft or Rosneft have been announcing development projects and upgrades for production of high quality base oils since 2008, but their realization have always been pushed back further. It looks wonderful how Tatneft succeeded in doing it in only four years time, Vladimir Kapustin, head of Moscow-based research and design institute VNIPIneft, told an industry event in Berlin last month.

Briefly Noted

Global chemical distributor Univar has acquired DAltomare Quimica Ltda., a Brazilian distributor of specialty chemicals and ingredients, through Univar Brasil Ltda. To be combined with Univars Brazil operations, DAltomares portfolio includes specialty ingredients, lubricants, coatings and adhesives…

Following up on wins in 2012 and 2013, Western Marketing again has taken Chevrons highest honor for lubricant distributors, the 2014 Eagle Award. Western Marketings president, Mike Miller, called it unprecedented for a company to win the award three years running…

Vertex Energy closed last month on its acquisition of Heartland Group, the Columbus, Ohio-based used oil collection network and rerefinery, paying $16.5 million in common stock…

Eastman Aviation Solutions has switched the full line of BP Turbo Oil aviation turbine oils over to the Eastman Turbo Oil brand. BP sold the business early last year.