American Refining Group has acquired Clinton Petroleum Co., a crude oil brokerage and trucking firm in Randolph, Ohio. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Clinton handles the Pennsylvania-grade crude oil that ARG uses to make base oils.
Vice President of Business Development John Robinson said that with Clinton Petroleum on the verge of going under or being sold, ARG acquired it so it would not lose a partner whose services were valuable in working with crude oil producers in Ohio.
We already got crude from Clinton in the past, so this doesnt really change anything, other than we now own their operation, Robinson told Lube Report. It wont change our output on the base oil side.
Robinson said Clinton does handle the Pennsylvania-grade crude oil used in making base oil at ARGs Bradford refinery, which is the oldest continuously operating refinery in the United States, and the only remaining refinery exclusively processing that type of crude oil. American Refining Group acquired the facility from Witco Corp. in 1997.
Pennsylvania-grade crude oil is found primarily in the Appalachian basin in the states of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia. According to ARG, it is free of asphalt, has only trace amounts of sulfur and nitrogen present, and offers a high viscosity index.
American Refining Group plans to continue purchasing and hauling crude oil from more than 100 producers formerly served by Clinton Petroleum. The acquisition, which became effective Sept. 30, adds nine crude oil trucks and eight employees to ARGs existing Ohio-based operations.
The crude oil collected by Clinton Petroleums fleet goes to ARGs terminal in Mineral City, Ohio, about 12 miles south of Canton. It is then loaded into railcars and transported to ARGs refinery in Bradford, Pa. ARG also purchases crude oil from two other independent oil brokers in Ohio – Devco Oil in Cambridge, and Jeddy Oil Co. in Marietta.
ARG currently has capacity to refine 2,400 barrels per day of lubricant base stocks, including 2,100 b/d of API Group I and 300 b/d of Group II. A new hydrogenation unit at its Bradford, Pa., refinery started up in March of this year, improving base oil quality. The hydrotreater offers the ability to treat 3,800 b/d of product, including fuels, distillates and lubricants.
On Nov. 5 American Refining Group also announced the promotion of three employees, effective Oct. 1: Tim Brown was appointed vice president of refinery products sales and marketing, Richard Glady was promoted to vice president of blended lubricant sales and marketing, and William Murray was appointed vice president of crude oil acquisition.