For 2014, U.S. virgin API Group I capacity stood at 65,100 b/d, up from 63,600 b/d last year. Group II and III reached 128,300 b/d, an increase of 22,000 b/d over last year, and naphthenic capacity remained at 48,100 b/d.

The report lists Chevrons new Pascagoula, Miss., base oil facility for the first time, at 23,500 barrels per day of API Group II capacity.

The Chevron Pascagoula base oil plant is still expected to produce approximately 25,000 b/d of Group II premium base oil, Chevron spokeswoman Quyen Teng told Lube Report. The AFPM capacities are asked to be calculated on a basis that includes planned and unplanned downtime (catalyst change outs, major turnarounds, and some estimated unplanned down days). So there is a reduction at that point from the 25,000 design basis.

This years report doesnt list Pemexs 6,000 b/d Group I refinery in Salamanca, Mexico. Pemex didnt respond to this years request for production capacity information, according to AFPM.

The report noted that ExxonMobil discontinued its 1,500 b/d Group II production at its Baton Rouge, La., plant in 2013, making the capacity available for Group I.

The publication lists locations, capacities, refinery configurations and ownership for 18 U.S. base oil and wax plants, plus three in Canada and two in Latin America. It is free to AFPM members and costs $35 for nonmembers. For ordering information, visit the AFPM Store at www.afpm.org.

The next new base oil in North America will most likely come from rerefineries.

NexLube suspended construction of its base oil rerefinery in Tampa, Fla. in late 2013 because costs exceeded its budget, and to seek additional capital. We are still in the negotiation stage with potential investors, so we now expect commissioning to occur in the first quarter of 2015, NexLube President Monte Bell told Lube Report this week.

The Tampa facility is expected to process 24 million gallons of used oil annually and produce about 20 million gallons per year of Group II base oil in three viscosity grades: 85, 150 and 330.

As of October 2013, FCC Environmental had planned to break ground on its $50 million rerefinery in Baltimore, Md., in the second quarter of 2014, and to commence operations in the second quarter of 2015.

Currently, the Baltimore rerefinery facility is working with the City of Baltimore’s building permit review process. We anticipate that the effort will be approved by the city in early July. Immediately following notification of the building permit approval, we will then seek competitive bids from general contractors. Ground breaking will take place when the general contractor process has been completed and finalized, Vince Glorioso, vice president and general manager of FCC Lubricants LLC, told Lube Report this week.

When completed, the Baltimore rerefinery is expected to employ 38 full-time people.