Chevron has confirmed it is restructuring its global downstream business, though it has not yet disclosed whether or how the plans will impact its base oil or lubricants operations.
The company is building a new global downstream organization, said Chevron spokesman Lloyd Avram. It will be smaller and less complex, requiring fewer positions and people, Avram told Lube Report. No decisions have been made.
He said the company will have more information to share in March, and that it will put a new organization in place by the third quarter.
Downstream assets, including refineries, are under constant review, he stated. No decisions have been made regarding assets or markets.
Chevrons Richmond, Calif. refinery has a base oil plant with 20,000 barrels per day of API Group II capacity. The company is constructing a 25,000 b/d base oil plant in Pascagoula, Miss, with estimated completion in 2013. Chevron has said the new facility will focus on the North American and European premium base oil markets, with Latin America also in the mix.
Chevron placed fourth in terms of global market share of finished lubricants in 2008, with an estimated 6 percent, according to Little Falls, N.J.-based consultancy Kline and Co.s study, Competitive Intelligence for the Global Lubricants Industry 2008-2018. The companies ahead of Chevron included Shell at 13 percent, ExxonMobil at 11 percent and BP at 8 percent.