Safety-Kleen Systems acquired Noble Oil Recycling, which collects used oil in the Eastern United States and has a North Carolina rerefinery that produces vacuum gas oil.
According to a May 1 news release, Safety-Kleen – a subsidiary of Clean Harbors – purchased Noble Oil in an all-cash transaction, but specific terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Safety-Kleen said the deal allows it to consolidate and make its used oil collection business more efficient in the eastern part of the country.
“We plan to collect about 50 million gallons [of used oil per year] to feed the Noble plant,” Brian P. Weber, head of Safety-Kleen Sustainability Solutions, told Lube Report on Wednesday. “Having our ninth rerefinery in North America will allow us to be even more efficient with routing used motor oil feedstock to each of those rerefineries. We view our rerefineries as part of a large network.”
Located in Sanford, North Carolina, Noble’s plant makes VGO but not base oil.
Safety-Kleen recently commissioned a life-cycle assessment that concluded its rerefined base oil has a 78% smaller carbon footprint than that of virgin mineral oils. “The VGO coming from the Noble plant carries a similar carbon footprint, and this is a huge benefit for any of our customers,” Weber said.
Founded more than 40 years ago by its late CEO Jim Noble, Noble Oil Services has grown into one of the largest privately held used oil recycling and rerefining companies in the U.S., serving clients in 12 states throughout the eastern part of the country.
“Jim’s passing has been very difficult for all of us, but under these circumstances, we believe this is the best outcome for our customers, employees, suppliers and the communities in which we serve,” Noble’s widow, Carol Anne Noble said in a news release. Owned by Norwell, Massachusetts-based environmental services provider Clean Harbors Inc., Safety-Kleen operates five base oil rerefineries in the U.S. – including the world’s largest in East Chicago, Indiana. The total base oil production capacity of these plants is 8,960 barrels per day. Safety-Kleen also operates two base oil rerefineries in Canada. With the purchase of Safety-Kleen in 2012, Clean Harbors formed the largest environmental services company in North America, approaching $4 billion in annual revenue.