Chevron Oronite completed an expansion of its additives plant in Singapore that doubles its global carboxylate-based detergents capacity, the company announced last week.
The Singapore plant is Oronites only in Asia to produce carboxylate, a sulfur-free detergent for lubricants. Until now, our plant in Gonfreville, France, was the sole producer of carboxylate in our supply chain, but this new unit in Singapore essentially doubled our capacity to make this detergent, which is used in several of our marine additive packages and some of our automotive [engine oil] packages, said Des King, the companys president.
Carboxylate detergents are used to enhance cleanliness and deposit control in medium-speed 4-stroke marine engines running on heavy fuel oil and for cleanliness and sludge control in marine engines operating on distillate fuel, a company representative explained to Lube Report Asia.
The facility also produces dispersants, antiwear agents and other additive components. It spans approximately 23 hectares of land on Jurong Island, Singapores petrochemical hub. The location has a private jetty with capacity of up to 40,000 dwt of parcel tankers and parking capacity for over 250 ISO tank containers, which are used to ship 70 percent of products made at the plant. The company did not disclose cost or capacity of the project, which took four years to complete.
Additives from the plant are sold to more than 15 countries in the region and shipped to distribution points globally. Oronite also has additive plants in Gonfreville, France, and Belle Chasse, United States.
Singapore is Oronites Asia-Pacific regional headquarters. Satellite offices are located in China, India and Japan and distributors are stationed in other key markets. Oronite is a subsidiary of U.S. energy company Chevron Corp. and is a major additive supplier for the lubricant industry.
Photo: Chevron Oronite