Calumet Lubricants Co. announced last week that it has purchased ExxonMobils Orchex agricultural spray oils business.
The transaction covers three lines of Orchex agricultural/citrus spray oils, as well as dormant spray oils, crop oil and banana spray oil. Calumet, of Indianapolis, Ind., now has exclusive rights to manufacture and market the products in the United States and parts of Central America. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Calumet said it will make the products at its Shreveport, La., paraffinic base oil refinery.
Petroleum-based agricultural spray oils are highly refined products, usually used in solution, to protect crops from insects. The oils form a coating that suffocates pests.
The market is small but healthy, with U.S. demand having grown from 15.2 million gallons in 1994 to 26.8 million gallons in 2001, according to the National Petrochemical and Refiners Associations 2001 Lubricating Oil and Wax Sales Report.