Chevron said Tuesday that it will add API Group III+ production capability at its base oil plant in Pascagoula, Louisiana, United States, claiming the facility will become the first significant source of that grade outside of Asia.
The U.S. energy major aims to scale up commercial production by the fourth quarter of 2026 and said it is undertaking the project to meet North American demand for the newest high-performance automotive lubricants.
The company declined to specify how much Group III+ the plant will be capable of making. It also declined to say how the upgrade is being accomplished and did not disclose the cost of the project.
The Pascagoula plant currently has capacity to make 25,000 barrels per day of Group II oils. Officials declined to say if or how the project will affect that capacity.
Chevron said Pascagoula will make one cut of Group III+ – a 4 centiStoke oil that will be marketed as Nexbase 4 XP. Nexbase is a brand that the company acquired when it bought Finnish refiner Neste’s base oil business in 2022.
That deal included a long-term supply agreement for Neste to continue production of Group III oils at its Porvoo, Finland, refinery and for Chevron to take all of that output. But Neste has since mulled plans to convert Porvoo to process bio-based feedstocks rather than crude oil – a change that could halt base oil production. Neither company has acknowledged implications for base oil production at the site.
The API Group I, II and III mineral base oil categories are defined by the American Petroleum, the latter being defined as having at least 90% saturated hydrocarbon molecules, no more than 0.03% sulfur and viscosity index of at least 120. Group III+ is an informal category, recognized by industry convention as having the same requirements as Group III except for a viscosity index of at least 130.
North America currently has relatively little capacity to make Group III oils and none for Group III+. Chevron’s other U.S. plant, in Richmond, California, has capacity to make 19,000 b/d of Group II and 2,500 b/d of Group III. HF Sinclair’s Petro-Canada operates a plant in Mississauga, Canada, with capacity of 11,600 b/d Group II and 4,000 b/d Group III.
Calumet makes small amounts of Group III at its plant in Shreveport, Louisiana, as does Avista Oil at its rerefinery in Peachtree City, Georgia, and Motiva can do likewise at its refinery in Port Arthur, Texas. Novvi makes small amounts from plant-based feedstocks in LaPorte, Texas.
Europe has several plants that make Group III, but none that make Group III+. Asia and the Pacific Rim have by far the most capacity for Group III and a number of plants that make Group III+.
Global demand for Group III oils has steadily risen in recent years for use in automotive engine oils and transmission fluids, and growing amounts of Group III+ oils are now being used to make mostly passenger car engine oils meeting the latest requirements for improved fuel economy. Those requirements raise needs for lower Noack volatility and improved cold cranking performance, which Group III+ can provide.
“Automotive engine oil markets are moving to lower viscosity oils to improve fuel economy and oxidation performance,” Chevron Senior Manager for Global Technology Sales & Business Development James Booth said in a news release. Officials did not disclose the properties of the new oil.
The company said the Group III+ oil will be supplied globally, beginning with hubs in Europe.